Invertible metering apparatus and related methods

ABSTRACT

Example invertible metering apparatus and related methods are disclosed. An example apparatus disclosed herein includes at least one processor and memory including instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to at least: determine an orientation of a housing; determine if a housing is in a mounting orientation; in response to determining that the housing is not in the mounting orientation, initiate a first alarm; in response to determining that the housing is in the mounting orientation, determine an orientation of a stencil; determine if the stencil is in an upright orientation; in response to determining that stencil is not in the upright orientation, initiate a second alarm; and in response to at least one of the housing being in the mounting orientation or the stencil being in the upright orientation, assign a light pattern to a plurality of lights associated with the stencil.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent arises from a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 16/192,394, (Now U.S. Pat. No. ______) filed on Nov. 15, 2018, whichis a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/192,554, filedon Jun. 24, 2016 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,178,433). U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/192,394 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/192,554 arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Priority toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/192,554 and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/192,554 is hereby claimed.

Additionally, this patent relates to subject matter disclosed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/192,539, filed on Jun. 24, 2016, entitledinvertible metering apparatus and related methods (Attorney Docket81141689US01), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/518,499, filed onJul. 22, 2019, entitled invertible metering apparatus and relatedmethods, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/192,560, filed on Jun. 24,2016, entitled meter apparatus and related methods (Attorney Docket81141781US01), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/981,398, filed on May16, 2018, entitled meter apparatus, and related methods, and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/418,690, filed on May 21, 2009 entitled meterapparatus and related methods. U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/192,539, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/518,499, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/192,560, U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/981,398, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/418,690 areincorporated herein in their entireties.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

This patent is directed to metering devices and, more specifically, toinvertible metering apparatus and related methods.

BACKGROUND

Monitoring companies monitor user interaction with media devices, suchas smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart televisions, etc. To facilitatesuch monitoring, monitoring companies enlist panelists and installmeters at the media presentation locations of those panelists. Themeters monitor media presentations and transmit media monitoringinformation to a central facility of the monitoring company. Such mediamonitoring information enables the media monitoring companies to, amongother things, monitor exposure to advertisements, determineadvertisement effectiveness, determine user behavior, identifypurchasing behavior associated with various demographics, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example audience measurement system having anexample meter constructed in accordance with the teachings of thisdisclosure. FIG. 1 illustrates the example meter in a first mountingorientation.

FIG. 2 illustrates the example audience measurement system of FIG. 1with the example meter in a second mounting orientation.

FIG. 3 illustrates the example audience measurement system of FIG. 1with the example meter in a third mounting orientation or,alternatively, in a fourth mounting orientation.

FIG. 4 illustrates the example audience measurement system of FIG. 1with the example meter in another mounting orientation.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another example meter disclosed hereinthat may be sued to implement the example audience measurement system ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a perspective, rear view of the example meter of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective, exploded view of the example meter of FIGS. 5and 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a first panel of the example meter ofFIGS. 5-7.

FIG. 9 illustrates the example meter of FIGS. 5-8 in a firstorientation.

FIG. 10 illustrates the example meter of FIGS. 5-9 having an examplestencil in an improper orientation.

FIG. 11 illustrates the example meter of FIGS. 5-10 in a secondorientation.

FIG. 12 illustrates the example meter of FIGS. 5-11 with the examplestencil in an improper orientation.

FIG. 13 illustrates the example meter of FIGS. 5-12 mounted to a mediadevice in the first mounting orientation.

FIG. 14 illustrates the example meter of FIGS. 5-13 mounted to the mediadevice in the second mounting orientation.

FIG. 15 illustrates the example meter of FIGS. 5 and 6 in a thirdorientation.

FIG. 16 illustrates the example meter of FIG. 15 having an examplestencil in an improper orientation.

FIG. 17 illustrates the example meter of FIGS. 15-16 in a secondorientation.

FIG. 18 illustrates the example meter of FIGS. 15-17 with the examplestencil in an improper orientation.

FIG. 19 illustrates the example meter of FIGS. 15-18 mounted to a mediadevice in the third mounting orientation.

FIG. 20 illustrates the example meter of FIGS. 15-18 mounted to themedia device in the fourth mounting orientation.

FIG. 21 is an example block diagram of the example meter of FIGS. 1-20.

FIGS. 22-27 are flowcharts representative of example machine-readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the example meter ofFIGS. 1-21.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram of an example processor platform capable ofexecuting the machine-readable instructions of FIGS. 22-27.

The figures are not to scale. Instead, to clarify multiple layers andregions, the thickness of the layers may be enlarged in the drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughoutthe drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the sameor like parts. As used in this patent, stating that any part (e.g., alayer, film, area, or plate) is in any way positioned on (e.g.,positioned on, located on, disposed on, or formed on, etc.) anotherpart, means that the referenced part is either in contact with the otherpart, or that the referenced part is above the other part with one ormore intermediate part(s) located therebetween. Stating that any part isin contact or directly engaged with another part means that there is nointermediate part between the two parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Audience measurement entities (also referred to herein as “ratingsentities” or “monitoring companies”) determine demographic reach foradvertising and media programming based on registered panel members.That is, an audience measurement entity enrolls people that consent tobeing monitored into a panel. During enrollment, the audiencemeasurement entity receives demographic information from the enrollingpeople so that subsequent correlations may be made betweenadvertisement/media exposure to those panelists and differentdemographic markets. For example, monitoring companies desire knowledgeon how users interact with media devices, such as smartphones, tablets,laptops, smart televisions, etc. In particular, media monitoringcompanies monitor media presentations made at the media devices to,among other things, monitor exposure to advertisements, determineadvertisement effectiveness, determine user behavior, identifypurchasing behavior associated with various demographics, etc.

As used herein, the term “media” includes any type of content and/oradvertisement delivered via any type of distribution medium. Thus, mediaincludes television programming or advertisements, radio programming oradvertisements, movies, web sites, streaming media, etc.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example audience measurement system 100having an example meter 102 constructed in accordance with the teachingsof this disclosure to monitor an example media presentation environment104. In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the media presentationenvironment 104 includes panelists 106, 107, and 108, an example mediadevice 110 that receives media from an example media source 112, and themeter 102. The meter 102 identifies the media presented by the mediadevice 110 and reports media monitoring information to an examplecentral facility 114 of an audience measurement entity via an examplegateway 116 and an example network 118. The example meter 102 of FIG. 1sends media identification data and/or audience identification data tothe central facility 114 periodically, a-periodically and/or uponrequest by the central facility 114.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the media presentation environment104 is a room of a household (e.g., a room in a home of a panelist, suchas the home of a “Nielsen family”) that has been statistically selectedto develop media (e.g., television) ratings data for apopulation/demographic of interest. In the illustrated example of FIG.1, the example panelists 106, 107 and 108 of the household have beenstatistically selected to develop media ratings data (e.g., televisionratings data) for a population/demographic of interest. People becomepanelists via, for example, a user interface presented on a media device(e.g., via the media device 110, via a website, etc.). People becomepanelists in additional or alternative manners such as, for example, viaa telephone interview, by completing an online survey, etc. Additionallyor alternatively, people may be contacted and/or enlisted using anydesired methodology (e.g., random selection, statistical selection,phone solicitations, Internet advertisements, surveys, advertisements inshopping malls, product packaging, etc.). In some examples, an entirefamily may be enrolled as a household of panelists. That is, while amother, a father, a son, and a daughter may each be identified asindividual panelists, their viewing activities typically occur withinthe family's household.

In the illustrated example, one or more panelists 106, 107 and 108 ofthe household have registered with an audience measurement entity (e.g.,by agreeing to be a panelist) and have provided their demographicinformation to the audience measurement entity as part of a registrationprocess to enable associating demographics with media exposureactivities (e.g., television exposure, radio exposure, Internetexposure, etc.). The demographic data includes, for example, age,gender, income level, educational level, marital status, geographiclocation, race, etc., of a panelist. While the example mediapresentation environment 104 is a household in the illustrated exampleof FIG. 1, the example media presentation environment 104 canadditionally or alternatively be any other type(s) of environments suchas, for example, a theater, a restaurant, a tavern, a retail location,an arena, etc.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the example media device 110 is atelevision. However, the example media device 110 can correspond to anytype of audio, video and/or multimedia presentation device capable ofpresenting media audibly and/or visually. In some examples, the mediadevice 110 (e.g., a television) may communicate audio to another mediapresentation device (e.g., an audio/video receiver) for output by one ormore speakers (e.g., surround sound speakers, a sound bar, etc.). Asanother example, the media device 110 can correspond to a multimediacomputer system, a personal digital assistant, a cellular/mobilesmartphone, a radio, a home theater system, stored audio and/or videoplayed back from a memory such as a digital video recorder or a digitalversatile disc, a webpage, and/or any other communication device capableof presenting media to an audience (e.g., the panelists 106, 107 and108).

The media source 112 may be any type of media provider(s), such as, butnot limited to, a cable media service provider, a radio frequency (RF)media provider, an Internet based provider (e.g., IPTV), a satellitemedia service provider, etc. The media may be radio media, televisionmedia, pay per view media, movies, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV),satellite television (TV), Internet radio, satellite radio, digitaltelevision, digital radio, stored media (e.g., a compact disk (CD), aDigital Versatile Disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disk, etc.), any other type(s)of broadcast, multicast and/or unicast medium, audio and/or video mediapresented (e.g., streamed) via the Internet, a video game, targetedbroadcast, satellite broadcast, video on demand, etc.

The example media device 110 of the illustrated example shown in FIG. 1is a device that receives media from the media source 112 forpresentation. In some examples, the media device 110 is capable ofdirectly presenting media (e.g., via a display) while, in otherexamples, the media device 110 presents the media on separate mediapresentation equipment (e.g., speakers, a display, etc.). Thus, as usedherein, “media devices” may or may not be able to present media withoutassistance from a second device. Media devices are typically consumerelectronics. For example, the media device 110 of the illustratedexample could be a personal computer, such as a laptop computer, and,thus, capable of directly presenting media (e.g., via an integratedand/or connected display and speakers). In some examples, the mediadevice 110 can correspond to a television and/or display device thatsupports the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) standard,the Phase Alternating Line (PAL) standard, the Système Électronique pourCouleur avec Mémoire (SECAM) standard, a standard developed by theAdvanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), such as high definitiontelevision (HDTV), a standard developed by the Digital VideoBroadcasting (DVB) Project, etc. Advertising, such as an advertisementand/or a preview of other programming that is or will be offered by themedia source 112, etc., is also typically included in the media. While atelevision is shown in the illustrated example, any other type(s) and/ornumber(s) of media device(s) may additionally or alternatively be used.For example, Internet-enabled mobile handsets (e.g., a smartphone, aniPod®, etc.), video game consoles (e.g., Xbox®, PlayStation 3, etc.),tablet computers (e.g., an iPad®, a Motorola™ Xoom™, etc.), digitalmedia players (e.g., a Roku® media player, a Slingbox®, a Tivo®, etc.),smart televisions, desktop computers, laptop computers, servers, etc.may additionally or alternatively be used.

The example meter 102 detects exposure to media and electronicallystores monitoring information (e.g., a code detected with the presentedmedia, a signature of the presented media, an identifier of a panelistpresent at the time of the presentation, a timestamp of the time of thepresentation) of the presented media. The stored monitoring informationis then transmitted back to the central facility 114 via the gateway 116and the network 118. While the media monitoring information istransmitted by electronic transmission in the illustrated example ofFIG. 1, the media monitoring information may additionally oralternatively be transferred in any other manner, such as, for example,by physically mailing the meter 102, by physically mailing a memory ofthe meter 102, etc.

The meter 102 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 combines audiencemeasurement data and people metering data. For example, audiencemeasurement data is determined by monitoring media output by the mediadevice 110 and/or other media presentation device(s), and audienceidentification data (also referred to as demographic data, peoplemonitoring data, etc.) is determined from people monitoring dataprovided to the meter 102. Thus, the example meter 102 provides dualfunctionality of a content measurement meter to collect contentmeasurement data and people meter to collect and/or associatedemographic information corresponding to the collected audiencemeasurement data.

For example, the meter 102 of the illustrated example collects mediaidentifying information and/or data (e.g., signature(s), fingerprint(s),code(s), tuned channel identification information, time of exposureinformation, etc.) and people data (e.g., user identifiers, demographicdata associated with audience members, etc.). The media identifyinginformation and the people data can be combined to generate, forexample, media exposure data (e.g., ratings data) indicative ofamount(s) and/or type(s) of people that were exposed to specificpiece(s) of media distributed via the media device 110. To extract mediaidentification data, the meter 102 and/or the example audiencemeasurement system 100 extracts and/or processes the collected mediaidentifying information and/or data received by the meter 102, which canbe compared to reference data to perform source and/or contentidentification. Any other type(s) and/or number of media monitoringtechniques can be supported by the meter 102.

Depending on the type(s) of metering the meter 102 is to perform, themeter 102 can be physically coupled to the media device 110 or may beconfigured to capture signals emitted externally by the media device 110(e.g., free field audio) such that direct physical coupling to the mediadevice 110 is not required. For example, the meter 102 of theillustrated example may employ non-invasive monitoring not involving anyphysical connection to the media device 110 (e.g., via Bluetooth®connection, WIFI® connection, acoustic watermarking, etc.) and/orinvasive monitoring involving one or more physical connections to themedia device 110 (e.g., via USB connection, a High Definition MediaInterface (HDMI) connection, an Ethernet cable connection, etc.).

For example, the meter 102 of the illustrated example senses audio(e.g., acoustic signals or ambient audio) output (e.g., emitted) by themedia device 110. For example, the meter 102 processes the signalsobtained from the media device 110 to detect media and/or sourceidentifying signals (e.g., audio watermarks) embedded in portion(s)(e.g., audio portions) of the media presented by the media device 110.To sense ambient audio output by the media device 110, the meter 102 ofthe illustrated example includes an example acoustic sensor 120 (e.g., amicrophone). In some examples, the meter 102 may process audio signalsobtained from the media device 110 via a direct cable connection todetect media and/or source identifying audio watermarks embedded in suchaudio signals. In some examples, the meter 102 may process audio signalsand/or video signals to generate respective audio and/or videosignatures from the media presented by the media device 110.

To generate exposure data for the media, identification(s) of media towhich the audience is exposed are correlated with people data (e.g.,presence information) collected by the meter 102. The meter 102 of theillustrated example collects inputs (e.g., audience identification data)representative of the identities of the audience member(s) (e.g., thepanelists 106, 107 and 108). In some examples, the meter 102 collectsaudience identification data by periodically or aperiodically promptingaudience members in the monitored media presentation environment 104 toidentify themselves as present in the audience. In some examples, themeter 102 responds to predetermined events (e.g., when the media device110 is turned on, a channel is changed, an infrared control signal isdetected, etc.) by prompting the audience member(s) to self-identify.The audience identification data and the exposure data can then becomplied with the demographic data collected from audience members suchas, for example, the panelists 106, 107 and 108 during registration todevelop metrics reflecting, for example, the demographic composition ofthe audience. The demographic data includes, for example, age, gender,income level, educational level, marital status, geographic location,race, etc., of the panelist.

In some examples, the meter 102 may be configured to receive panelistinformation via an example input device 122 such as, for example, aremote control, An Apple iPad®, a cell phone, etc.). In such examples,the meter 102 prompts the audience members to indicate their presence bypressing an appropriate input key on the input device 122. For example,the input device may enable the audience member(s) (e.g., the panelists106, 107 and 108 of FIG. 1) and/or an unregistered user (e.g., a visitorto a panelist household) to input information to the meter 102 ofFIG. 1. This information includes registration data to configure themeter 102 and/or demographic data to identify the audience member(s).For example, the input device 122 may include a gender input interface,an age input interface, and a panelist identification input interface,etc.

The meter 102 of the illustrated example may also determine times atwhich to prompt the audience members to enter information to the meter102. In some examples, the meter 102 of FIG. 1 supports audiowatermarking for people monitoring, which enables the meter 102 todetect the presence of a panelist-identifying metering device in thevicinity (e.g., in the media presentation environment 104) of the mediadevice 110. In some examples, the acoustic sensor 120 of the meter 102is able to sense example audio output 124 (e.g., emitted) by an examplepanelist-identifying metering device 126, such as, for example, awristband, a cell phone, etc., that is uniquely associated with aparticular panelist. The audio output 124 by the examplepanelist-identifying metering device 126 may include, for example, oneor more audio watermarks to facilitate identification of thepanelist-identifying metering device 126 and/or the panelist 106associated with the panelist-identifying metering device 126.

The example gateway 116 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 is a routerthat enables the meter 102 and/or other devices in the mediapresentation environment (e.g., the media device 110) to communicatewith the network 118 (e.g., the Internet.).

In some examples, the example gateway 116 facilitates delivery of mediafrom the media source 112 to the media device 110 via the Internet. Insome examples, the example gateway 116 includes gateway functionality,such as modem capabilities. In some other examples, the example gateway116 is implemented in two or more devices (e.g., a router, a modem, aswitch, a firewall, etc.). The gateway 116 of the illustrated examplemay communicate with the network 118 via Ethernet, a digital subscriberline (DSL), a telephone line, a coaxial cable, a USB connection, aBluetooth connection, any wireless connection, etc.

In some examples, the example gateway 116 hosts a Local Area Network(LAN) for the media presentation environment 104. In the illustratedexample, the LAN is a wireless local area network (WLAN), and allows themeter 102, the media device 110, etc. to transmit and/or receive datavia the Internet. Alternatively, the gateway 116 may be coupled to sucha LAN. In some examples, the gateway 116 may be implemented with theexample meter 102 disclosed herein. In some examples, the gateway 116may not be provided. In some such examples, the meter 102 maycommunicate with the central facility 114 via cellular communication(e.g., the meter 102 may employ a built-in cellular modem).

The network 118 of the illustrated example is a wide area network (WAN)such as the Internet. However, in some examples, local networks mayadditionally or alternatively be used. Moreover, the example network 118may be implemented using any type of public or private network, such as,but not limited to, the Internet, a telephone network, a local areanetwork (LAN), a cable network, and/or a wireless network, or anycombination thereof.

The central facility 114 of the illustrated example is implemented byone or more servers. The central facility 114 processes and stores datareceived from the meter 102. For example, the example central facility114 of FIG. 1 combines audience identification data and programidentification data from multiple households to generate aggregatedmedia monitoring information. The central facility 114 generates reportsfor advertisers, program producers and/or other interested parties basedon the compiled statistical data. Such reports include extrapolationsabout the size and demographic composition of audiences of content,channels and/or advertisements based on the demographics and behavior ofthe monitored panelists.

As noted above, the meter 102 of the illustrated example provides acombination of media (e.g., content) metering and people metering. Theexample meter 102 of FIG. 1 is a stationary device disposed on or nearthe media device 110. The meter 102 of FIG. 1 includes its own housing,processor, memory and/or software to perform the desired audiencemeasurement and/or people monitoring functions.

In examples disclosed herein, an audience measurement entity providesthe meter 102 to the panelist 106, 107 and 108 (or household ofpanelists) such that the meter 102 may be installed by the panelist 106,107 and 108 by simply powering the meter 102 and placing the meter 102in the media presentation environment 104 and/or near the media device110 (e.g., near a television set). In some examples, more complexinstallation activities may be performed such as, for example, affixingthe meter 102 to the media device 110, electronically connecting themeter 102 to the media device 110, etc.

To identify and/or confirm the presence of a panelist present in themedia device 110, the example meter 102 of the illustrated exampleincludes an example display 132. For example, the display 132 providesidentification of the panelists 106, 107, 108 present in the mediapresentation environment 104. For example, the meter 102 of theillustrated example displays indicia or visual indicators (e.g.,illuminated numerals 1, 2 and 3) identifying and/or confirming thepresence of the first panelist 106, the second panelist 107 and thethird panelist 108.

The meter 102 of the illustrated example may be affixed to the mediadevice 110 in any orientation such as, for example, above the mediadevice 110, on a side of the media device 110, below the media device110, etc. For example, the meter 102 of the illustrated example iscapable of invertible mounting (e.g., with a primary orientation forabove-television mounting and an inverted orientation forbelow-television mounting). In some examples, the example meter device110 of the illustrated example may be capable of side-media devicemounting (e.g., a left-side television mounting and a right-sidetelevision mounting). The different configurable orientations of themeter 102 enables flexibility when placing the meter 102 in differentlocations (e.g., on the media device 110, on a ceiling mountedtelevision, a shelf, etc.) depending on footprint constraints of themedia presentation environment 104 and/or the media device 110. To thisend, the example meter 102 of the illustrated example provides arelatively small or narrow dimensional footprint (e.g., a relativelysmall thickness and/or height). Additionally, the orientation of themeter 102 may be configured at a manufacturing facility, a ratingscompany, in the field at the media presentation environment 104, and/orany other location.

To enable different mounting configurations of the example meter 102disclosed herein, the example modular display 132 of the example meter102 is modular. For example, the display 132 may be configured based onthe mounting orientation of the meter 102. To enable presentation ofindicia in an upright or right side up orientation via the display 132,the meter 102 of the illustrated example includes a removable stencil.For example, the stencil may be removed from the display 132 and may bere-oriented based on the mounting orientation of the meter 102. In someexamples, an example stencil disclosed herein may be replaced orinterchanged with a different stencil to present different indicia. Forexample, the display 132 of the illustrated example presents indiciahaving numerals. However, in some examples, the display 132 may beconfigured to present indicia having letters, text, symbols, and/or anyother indicia and/or any combination thereof.

In addition, in some examples, the meter 102 of the illustrated exampledetermines a proper orientation of the display 132 and/or the stencil.The display 132 and/or stencil of the illustrated example are properlyoriented when the visual indicators of the display 132 are presented inan upright orientation. In other words, the display 132 and/or thestencil is in an improper orientation when the visual indicatorspresented by the display 132 and/or the stencil are, for example,inverted or upside-down.

In some examples, the meter 102 of the illustrated example controls alight operation associated with a respective one of the visualindicators of the display 132 and/or the stencil based on the detectedorientation of the display 132 and/or the stencil. Thus, depending on amounting orientation of the meter 102 and/or an orientation of thestencil, the meter 102 illuminates the proper visual indicator.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the meter 102 is affixed ormounted to the media device 110 in a first mounting orientation 134. Inthe illustrated example, the first mounting orientation 134 provides anabove-media device mounting configuration (e.g., an above-televisionmounting configuration), which places the display 132 in a landscapeorientation relative to the media device 110. For example, the meter 102is shown in a right-side up orientation in FIG. 1. The meter 102 of theillustrated example may be coupled (e.g., directly attached) to asurface 136 (e.g., an upper surface, an upper horizontal surface) of themedia device 110. For example, the meter 102 of the illustrated exampleis in a substantially horizontal orientation relative to the mediadevice 110 when the meter 102 is in the first mounting orientation 134.In the first mounting orientation 134, the display 132 of theillustrated example displays the visual indicators or indicia in anupright orientation. For example, the meter 102 of the illustratedexample displays the visual indicators or indicia in a landscapeconfiguration in ascending order from left to right in the orientationof FIG. 1. Alternatively, the meter 102 of the illustrated example maynot be fixed to the media device 110. For example, the meter 102 may beplaced in a location near the media device 110.

FIG. 2 illustrates the example media presentation environment 104 ofFIG. 1 with the meter 102 of the illustrated example in a secondmounting orientation 200. In the second mounting orientation 200, themeter 102 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 provides a below-mediadevice mounting configuration (e.g., a below-television mountingconfiguration), which also places the display 132 in a landscapeorientation relative to the media device 110. For example, the meter 102of the illustrated example is in a substantially horizontal orientationrelative to the media device 110 when the meter 102 is in the secondmounting orientation 200. For example, the meter 102 shown in theillustrated example of FIG. 2 is inverted (e.g., upside down) relativeto the orientation of the meter 102 shown in FIG. 1. The meter 102 ofthe illustrated example may be coupled (e.g., directly attached) to asurface 202 (e.g., a lower surface) of the media device 110 (e.g., thatis opposite the mounting surface 136). Although the meter 102 providedin the second mounting orientation 200 is flipped upside down comparedto the first mounting orientation 134 of FIG. 1, the display 132 of theexample meter 102 displays the indicia in an upright orientation. Inother words, although the meter 102 is turned upside down, the indiciapresented by the display 132 is presented in an upright orientation. Inthe second mounting orientation 200, the display 132 of the illustratedexample displays indicia in a landscape orientation in ascending orderfrom left to right, similar to the orientation of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates the example media presentation environment 104 ofFIG. 1 with the example meter 102 of the illustrated example in a thirdmounting orientation 300 relative to the media device 110. In the thirdmounting orientation 300, the meter 102 of the illustrated example maybe configured for a right-side media device mounting configuration,which places the display 132 in a portrait orientation relative to themedia device 110. For example, the meter 102 of the illustrated examplemay be coupled (e.g. directly attached) to a surface 304 of the mediadevice 110 (e.g., a vertical or right lateral surface in the orientationof FIG. 1).

FIG. 4 illustrates the example media presentation environment 104 ofFIG. 1 with the example meter 102 of the illustrated example in a fourthmounting orientation 400 relative to the media device 110. In the fourthmounting orientation 400, the meter 102 of the illustrated example maybe configured for a left-side media device mounting configuration, whichplaces the display 132 in a portrait orientation relative to the mediadevice 110. For example, the meter 102 of the illustrated example may becoupled (e.g. directly attached) to a surface 402 of the media device110 (e.g., a vertical or left lateral surface in the orientation ofFIG. 1) opposite the surface 304.

In either of the third mounting orientation 300 or the fourth mountingorientation 400, the meter 102 of the illustrated example is in asubstantially vertical orientation relative to the media device 110(e.g., relative to horizontal). Additionally, the meter 102 of theillustrated example displays indicia in an upright orientation (e.g., aright side up orientation). In particular, the meter 102 of theillustrated example displays the indicia in a portrait configurationrelative to the media device 110 when the meter 102 is positioned in thethird mounting orientation 300 or the fourth mounting orientation 400.For example, the display 132 presents indicia (e.g., numerals 1, 2, and3) in a portrait orientation in ascending order from top to bottom inthe orientation of FIG. 3. By employing a modular display 132, amounting orientation of the meter 102 of the illustrated example may bevaried and the indicia presented by the display 132 is presented in aright side up or upright orientation (e.g., a top to bottomorientation).

FIG. 5 is a perspective, front view of an example meter 500 constructedin accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. The example meter500 of FIG. 5 may implement the example meter 102 and/or the exampleaudience measurement system 100 of FIGS. 1-4. The meter 500 of theillustrated example combines people metering and media (e.g., content)metering in a single example housing 502. To display panelistinformation, the meter 500 of the illustrated example includes anexample display 504. The display 504 of the illustrated example isprovided at a front side 506 of the meter 500. In particular, thedisplay 504 of the illustrated example is a modular display. Asdescribed in greater detail below, the modular display 504 of theexample meter 500 enables various or different mounting configurationsor orientations, such as, for example, the mounting orientations 134,200, 300 and 400 shown in FIGS. 1-4. In addition, regardless of themounting orientation, the display 504 of the example meter 500 presentsindicia or visual indicators in an upright or proper orientation.

To mount or couple the meter to a surface or edge of a mediapresentation device (e.g., the media device 110 of FIGS. 1-3), the meter500 of the illustrated example includes an example mounting surface 508.The mounting surface 508 of the illustrated example is at a bottom side510 of the example meter 500. For example, the bottom side 510 of themeter of the illustrated example is substantially perpendicular to thefront side 506 of the meter 500. The meter 500 of the illustratedexample includes an example opening 512 for audio output (e.g., via aspeaker) and/or an example opening 514 to receive audio (e.g., via amicrophone) generated by a media device (e.g., audio output of theexample media device 110 of FIG. 1).

FIG. 6 is a perspective, rear view of the example meter of FIG. 5. Theexample meter 500 of the illustrated example employs an example firstconnector 602 and an example second connector 604 accessible via a rearside 606 of the housing 502. The first connector 602 and/or the secondconnector 604 of the illustrated example enables communication between,for example, the meter 500 and the media device 110 and/or the gateway116 of FIGS. 1-4. The first connector 602 of the illustrated example isa USB connector and the second connector 604 of the illustrated exampleis an Ethernet connector (e.g., RJ45 jack, Cat5e connector, etc.).However, in some examples, the first connector 602 and/or the secondconnector 604 may be, for example, a power connector, a microUSBconnector, coaxial cable connector, and/or any other type ofconnector(s).

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the example meter 500 of FIGS. 5 and 6.

To provide the modular display 504, the meter 500 of the illustratedexample includes an example cover 702 and an example stencil 704 thatare removably coupled to an example first panel 708 of the housing 502.To house or capture example components 706 of the example meter 500, thehousing 502 of the illustrated example includes a first panel 708 (e.g.,a front housing portion) coupled to an example second panel 710 (e.g., arear housing portion). The first panel 708 may be coupled to the secondpanel 710 via fasteners, snap fit connection, adhesive and/or any otherfastening technique(s), fastener(s) and/or connector(s). The components706 of the example meter 500 may include an example circuit board 712(e.g. a printed circuit board) having a microprocessor, a plurality ofexample diffusors 714, etc. In some examples, the housing 502 (e.g., thefirst panel 708 and the second panel 710) is composed of one or morenon-conductive materials, such as plastic, to reduce interference withone or more communication devices (e.g., antennas) of the example meter500.

To display identification of a panelist registered with the meter 500,the meter 500 of the illustrated example employs the stencil 704. Inparticular, the stencil 704 of the illustrated example includes indiciahaving a plurality of example visual indicators 720. For example, eachof the visual indicators 720 may be assigned to represent a particularpanelist (e.g., the panelists 106, 107 and/or 108 of FIG. 1) associatedwith a viewing area (e.g., the media presentation environment 104 ofFIG. 1). The visual indicators 720 of the illustrated example arenumerals. For example, the visual indicators 720 of the illustratedexample includes eight single digit characters—one through eight. Insome examples, the meter 500 of the illustrated example may represent upto eight panelists. In some examples, the visual indicators 720 may bemore than eight or less than eight. In addition, the visual indicators720 of the illustrated example are in ascending order (e.g., from leftto right in the orientation of FIG. 7). Further, the visual indicators720 of the illustrated example are presented in a landscape orientation.In some examples, the visual indicators 720 or indicia may includeletters, text, or alphanumeric characters. In some examples, the visualindicators 720 or indicia may include symbols, other language characters(e.g., Chinese characters or other logograms) and/or any other indiciasuch as, for example, indicia to identify a panelist.

To receive the stencil 704, the housing 502 of the illustrated exampleincludes an example display area 722. More specifically, the displayarea 722 of the illustrated example is provided by a front surface 724of the first panel 708. The display area 722 of the housing 502 of theillustrated example includes a plurality of example openings 726. In theillustrated example, a respective one of the openings 726 is associatedwith (e.g., aligned with) a respective one of the visual indicators 720.For example, a first visual indicator 720 a (e.g., a first numeral orindicia) of the stencil 704 is aligned with a first opening 726 a and asecond visual indicator 720 b (e.g., a second numeral or indicia) of thestencil 704 is aligned with a second opening 726 b different from thefirst opening 726 a. In the illustrated example, the housing 502includes eight openings 726 associated with respective ones of the eightvisual indicators 720 of the stencil 704.

Each of the openings 726 is in communication with a light source suchas, for example, a light emitting diode that emits light when energized.The light source of the illustrated example includes a plurality ofexample lights 730 (e.g., light emitting diodes) that are surfacemounted to the circuit board 712. A respective one of the lights 730 isaligned with a respective one of the openings 726 to illuminate arespective one of the visual indicators 720. The example circuit board712 of the illustrated example includes eight lights 730. Thus, a firstlight 730 a from the plurality of lights 730 illuminates the firstvisual indicator 720 a from the plurality of visual indicators 720 viathe first opening 726 a, a second light 730 b from the plurality oflights 730 illuminates the second visual indicator 720 b from theplurality of visual indicators 720 via the second opening 726 b, and soon. In this manner, a respective one of the lights 730 may illuminate arespective one of the visual indicators 720 of the stencil 704 alignedor associated with the respective one of the openings 726 incommunication with the respective one of the lights 730. To evenlydistribute or scatter light emitted by the lights 730 through theopenings 726, the meter 500 of the illustrated example includes theexample diffusors 714. A respective one of the diffusors 714 ispositioned or aligned with a respective one of the openings 726.

The lights 730 may provide a clear (e.g., white) light, one or morecolored lights (e.g., a green light, a red light, etc.), or anycombination thereof. In some examples, an intensity of the lights 730may vary (e.g., increase and/or decrease) when the meter 500 prompts apanelist to self-identify. For example, the meter 500 may cause thefirst light 730 a to turn on and off rapidly to present the first visualindicator 720 a in a flashing or blinking pattern for a duration of time(e.g., 20 seconds) or until a panelist self-identifies. In someexamples, the lights 730 or a status indicator 731 may be illuminated toprovide a visual warning or alarm, a status indication (e.g., a powerindictor) and/or to convey any other information to a panelist.

In some examples, the meter 500 determines if the housing 502 is in animproper mounting configuration or orientation (e.g., an orientationother than the first mounting orientation 134 of FIG. 1, the secondmounting orientation 200 of FIG. 2, the third mounting orientation 300of FIG. 3, and/or the fourth mounting orientation 400 of FIG. 4).

To detect and/or verify proper orientation of the meter 500 and/or thehousing 502 relative to a desired mounting configuration (e.g., thefirst mounting orientation 134 of FIG. 1, the second mountingorientation 200 of FIG. 2, the third mounting orientation 300, or thefourth mounting orientation 400 of FIG. 4), the meter 500 of theillustrated example employs an example orientation sensor (e.g., alsoreferred as an orientation detector). For example, the orientationsensor of the meter 500 of the illustrated example is an accelerometercoupled to the circuit board 712 to sense an orientation of the meter500 and/or the housing 502. In some examples, the orientation sensor maybe a piezoelectric sensor, a strain gauge sensor, and/or any othersensor to detect an orientation of the meter 500 and/or the housing 502.

In some examples, the meter 500 detects the orientation of the housing502 (e.g., with the orientation sensor) to determine if the housing 502becomes dislodged or disconnected from the media device (e.g., the mediadevice 110). For example, the meter 500 may be configured to determinethe housing 502 may have fallen behind a television and/or from amounting surface (e.g., the mounting surface 136) if the detectedorientation of the housing 502 is not the first mounting orientation 134of FIG. 1, the second mounting orientation of FIG. 2, the third mountingorientations 300 of FIG. 3, or the fourth mounting orientation 400 ofFIG. 4. In some examples, the meter 500 of the illustrated example isconfigured to provide an alarm (e.g., a visual alarm via the displayarea 722 and/or an audible warning via a speaker) if the detectedorientation is not a proper orientation (e.g., the detected orientationis neither the first mounting orientation 134 of FIG. 1, the secondmounting orientation of FIG. 2, the third mounting orientations 300 ofFIG. 4, or the fourth mounting orientation 400 of FIG. 4).

In some examples, the example meter 500 may control operation of thelights 730 based on a detected mounting orientation of the meter 500and/or the housing 502. For example, the meter 500 may control aparticular light 730 associated with a particular visual indicator 720of the stencil 704 based on the detected orientation of the housing 502.For example, when the example meter 500 is in a first orientation (e.g.,the first mounting orientation 134 of FIG. 1 or the third mountingorientation 300 of FIG. 3), the first light 730 a is associated with thefirst visual indicator 720 a of the stencil 704 and the second light 730b is associated with the second visual indicator 720 b of the stencil704. However, when the example meter 500 is in a second orientation(e.g., the second mounting orientation 200 of FIG. 2 or the fourthmounting orientation 400 of FIG. 4) (e.g., an inverted orientation)),the first light 730 a is associated with the second visual indicator 720b of the stencil 704 and the second light 730 b is associated with thefirst visual indicator 720 a of the stencil 704 (i.e., the assignment ororientation of the lights 730 with the respective ones of the visualindicators 720 is flipped). Thus, the meter 500 may automatically assignthe lights 730 with the respective one of the visual indicators 720 ofthe stencil 704 based on the orientation of the meter 500 and/or thehousing 502.

In some examples, the meter 500 may verify that the stencil 704 is in aproper orientation relative to the housing 502. For example, the stencil704 may be properly oriented relative to the housing 502 when the visualindicators 720 are oriented in an upright orientation or right-side upposition. For example, the stencil 704 may need to be inverted when thehousing 502 is repositioned from the first orientation (e.g., firstmounting orientation 134 of FIG. 1) to a second orientation (e.g., thesecond mounting orientation 200 of FIG. 2). In some examples, the meter500 may verify proper stencil orientation based on the detectedorientation of the housing 502. For example, the meter 500 of theillustrated example verifies proper stencil orientation relative to thedisplay area 722 based on the mounting orientation of the meter 500and/or the housing 502.

To detect an orientation or position of the stencil 704 relative to thedisplay area 722, the meter 500 of the illustrated example includes anexample sensor 760 (e.g., a contact switch). To distinguish from theorientation sensor above, the sensor 760 is also referred to as thestencil sensor 760. To enable orientation detection of the stencil 704via the sensor 760, the stencil 704 of the illustrated example includesone or both of a first example tab 762 and a second example tab 764.More specifically, the first tab 762 and the second tab 764 areasymmetric tabs protruding from respective lateral edges 766 and 768 ofthe stencil 704. The first tab 762 has a first dimension (e.g., a firstlength) and the second tab 764 has a second dimension (e.g., a secondlength) that is greater than the first dimension. However, in someexamples, the stencil 704 may include only one tab and/or anotherfeature to enable detection of an orientation of the stencil 704, forexample, as described below.

In some examples, the example meter 500 may control operation of thelights 730 based on a detected orientation of the stencil 704. In somesuch examples, the example meter 500 may control operation of the lights730 with or without detecting an orientation of the housing 502. Forexample, the meter 700 may control a particular light 730 associatedwith a particular visual indicator 720 of the stencil 704 based on thedetected orientation of the stencil 704 alone, or in combination withthe detected orientation of the housing 502. In some examples, when theexample meter 500 detects that the sensor 760 is in a triggered oractive state or condition (e.g., the second tab 764 is positioned in thesensing slot 800 when the stencil 704 is in the first orientation), thefirst light 730 a is associated with the first visual indicator 720 a ofthe stencil 704 and the second light 730 b is associated with the secondvisual indicator 720 b of the stencil 704. However, when the meter 600detects that the sensor 760 is in a non-triggered or non-active state orcondition (e.g., when the stencil 704 is in a second orientation (e.g.,an inverted orientation) and the second tab 764 is in the slot 806), thefirst light 730 a is associated with the second visual indicator 720 bof the stencil 704 and the second light 730 b is associated with thefirst visual indicator 720 a of the stencil 704 (i.e., the assignment ororientation of the lights 730 with the respective ones of the visualindicators 720 is flipped). Thus, the meter 500 may automatically assignthe lights 730 with the respective one of the visual indicators 720 ofthe stencil 704 based on a detected orientation of the stencil 704. Insome examples, the meter 500 may control operation of the lights basedon both the orientation of the housing 502 and the orientation of thestencil. In some examples, the operation of the stencil sensor 760 isnot limited to the described examples but, for example, could bereversed (e.g., behavior associated with the sensor 760 being triggeredcould alternatively be associated with the sensor 760 not beingtriggered, and vice versa.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the example first panel 708 of theexample meter 500 of FIGS. 5-7. An outline of the stencil 704 is shownin FIG. 8 for illustrative purposes. For example, the stencil 704 is notpositioned in contact with an inner surface 804 of the second panel 708.To enable the sensor 760 to detect the presence or absence of the firsttab 762 or the second tab 764 of the stencil 704, the first panel 708 ofthe illustrated example includes an example sensing slot 800 (e.g., arecessed cavity, a channel, etc.). The sensing slot 800 may include acontact electrically coupled and/or mechanically coupled to the sensor760. The sensing slot 800 of the illustrated example is a recessedchannel 802 formed on an inner surface 804 of the first panel 708opposite the display area 722. Thus, the sensing slot 800 of theillustrated example does not extend through the front surface 724 of thedisplay area 722.

The sensing slot 800 of the illustrated example is sized to receive thefirst tab 762 and the second tab 764. However, the sensor 760 onlydetects the presence of the second tab 764 (e.g., due to the asymmetricdimensions of the first tab 762 and the second tab 764) when the firsttab 762 and the second tab 764 are positioned in the sensing slot 800.For example, a contact may be positioned in the sensing slot 800 thatmay be triggered only by the second tab 764 positioned in the sensingslot 800. The first panel 708 of the illustrated example includes a slot806 on a opposite end of the sensing slot 800 to receive the first tab762 or the second tab 764 when the other one of the first tab 762 or thesecond tab 764 is positioned in the sensing slot 800. In some examples,the housing 502 may employ a contact switch and/or trigger in the slot806 instead of the sensing slot 800. In some examples, the housing 502may employ the stencil sensor 760 in communication with the sensing slot800 and may employ an additional sensor in the slot 806 and/or along theperimeter of the display area 722 and/or a perimeter of the stencil 704.For example, the stencil 704 may include a third tab to interact withsensors positioned along the perimeter of the display area 722 todetermine the orientation of the stencil 704.

FIG. 9 illustrates the example meter 500 of the illustrated in a firstexample mounting configuration 900. In the first mounting configuration900, the housing 502 of the illustrated example is in a firstorientation 902 and the stencil 704 is in a first direction 904. Thestencil 704 of the illustrated example is properly oriented relative tothe display area 722 and/or the orientation of the housing 502 becausethe visual indicators 720 of the stencil 704 are presented in thedisplay area 722 in an upright orientation. Additionally, when thehousing 502 of the illustrated example is in the first orientation 902and the stencil 704 is positioned in the display area 722 in the firstdirection 904, the sensor 760 detects the second tab 764 positioned inthe sensing slot 800. For example, the sensor 760 senses the second tab764 in the sensing slot 800 because the second tab 764, due to thelength of the second tab 764, engages or activates a trigger 906 (e.g.,represented by a dashed line in FIG. 9) of the sensor 760 (e.g., acontact switch positioned in the sensing slot 800). To this end, themeter 500 of the illustrated example determines or verifies that thestencil 704 is properly oriented relative to the housing 502 when thehousing 502 is in the first orientation 902 (e.g., as determined withthe orientation sensor described above) and the sensor 760 is in atriggered state or condition (e.g., the stencil 704 is in the firstdirection 904).

FIG. 10 illustrates the example meter 600 of FIG. 9 with the examplehousing 502 in the first orientation 902 and the stencil 704 in a seconddirection 1002 (e.g., an upside-down orientation compared to the firstdirection 904). When the stencil 704 is in the second direction 1002,the second tab 764 is not positioned in the sensing slot 800. On thecontrary, the first tab 762 of the stencil 704 is positioned in sensingslot 800 and the second tab 764 is positioned in the slot 806. Thesensor 760 does not sense the first tab 762 in the sensing slot 800because, due to the length of the first tab 762, the first tab 762 doesnot activate the trigger 906 of the sensor 760 (e.g., a contact switchpositioned in the sensing slot 800). Thus, neither the first tab 762 northe second tab 764 is sensed by the sensor 760 when the housing 502 isin the first orientation 902 and the stencil 704 is in the seconddirection 1002. In the second direction 1002, the visual indicators 720of the stencil 704 are in an inverted or upside-down orientationcompared to the orientation of the visual indicators 720 when thestencil 704 is in the first direction 904. To this end, the stencil 704is improperly oriented relative to the display area 722 and/or theorientation of the housing 502 when the housing 502 is in the firstorientation 902. Thus, the meter 500 of the illustrated exampledetermines that the stencil 704 is not properly oriented when the meter500 determines that the housing 502 is in the first orientation 902(e.g., with the orientation sensor described above) and the sensor 760is a non-triggered state or condition (e.g., the stencil 704 is in thesecond direction 1002). In some examples, the meter 500 of theillustrated example initiates an alarm (e.g., an audible alarm or avisual alarm) when the meter 500 determines the housing 502 is in thefirst orientation 902 and the stencil 704 is in the second direction1002.

FIG. 11 illustrates the example meter 500 of the illustrated in a secondmounting orientation 1100. In the second mounting orientation 1100, thehousing 502 of the illustrated example is in a second orientation 1102and the stencil 704 of the illustrated example in the first direction904. For example, when the housing 502 is in the second orientation1102, the sensor 760 and the sensing slot 800 will be positioned on aleft side in the orientation of FIG. 11 (i.e., the housing 502 isinverted, flipped upside down, or rotated 180 degrees from the firstorientation 902). Thus, when the housing 502 of the illustrated exampleis in the second orientation 1102 and the stencil 704 is positioned inthe display area 722 in the first direction 904, the first tab 762 ispositioned in the sensing slot 800 and the second tab 764 is positionedin the slot 806. Thus, the sensor 760 neither detects the second tab 764nor the first tab 762 because the second tab 764 is in the slot 806 andthe first tab 762 is in the sensing slot 800 does not engage or activatethe trigger 906 of the sensor 760 (e.g., a contact switch positioned inthe sensing slot 800). Although the housing 502 in the secondorientation 1102 of the illustrated example is in an invertedorientation compared to the first orientation 902 of the housing 502,the stencil 704 positioned in the first direction 904 is properlyoriented relative to the display area 722 and/or the orientation of thehousing 502. In other words, the visual indicators 720 of the stencil704 are presented in the display area 722 in an upright orientation eventhough the housing 502 is in the second orientation 1102 (e.g., aninverted orientation). Thus the meter 500 of the illustrated exampledetermines that the stencil 704 is properly oriented relative to thedisplay area 722 and/or the orientation of the housing 502 when thehousing 502 is in the second orientation 1102 (e.g., as determined withthe orientation sensor described above) and the sensor 760 is nottriggered (e.g., the stencil 704 is in the first direction 904).

FIG. 12 illustrates the example meter 500 with the example housing 502in the second orientation 1102 and the stencil 704 in the seconddirection 1002. When the stencil 704 is in the second direction 1002,the second tab 764 is positioned in the sensing slot 800 and the firsttab 762 of the stencil 704 is positioned in the slot 806. Thus, thesecond tab 764 in the sensing slot 800 triggers or activates the sensor760. However, when the stencil 704 is in the second direction 1002, thevisual indicators 720 of the stencil 704 are inverted or in anupside-down orientation compared to the orientation of the visualindicators 720 when the stencil 704 is in the first direction 904. Tothis end, the stencil 704 is improperly oriented relative to the displayarea 722 and/or the orientation of the housing 502. Thus the meter 500of the illustrated example determines that the stencil 704 is improperlyoriented relative to the display area 722 and/or the orientation of thehousing 502 when the housing 502 is in the second orientation 1102 andthe sensor 760 is in a triggered state or condition (e.g., the stencil704 is in the second direction 1002). Additionally, the meter 500 of theillustrated example initiates an alarm (e.g., an audible alarm or avisual alarm) when the meter 500 determines the housing 502 is in thesecond orientation 1102 (e.g., as determined with the orientation sensordescribed above) and the sensor 760 is triggered (e.g., the stencil 704is in the second direction 1002).

FIG. 13 illustrates the meter 500 of the illustrated example coupled toan example media device 1300 in the first mounting orientation 900(e.g., an above-television mounting configuration, a horizontalorientation, etc.). In the first mounting orientation 900, the meter 500is mounted to an upper surface 1302 of the media device 1300 in theorientation of FIG. 13. For example, in the first mounting orientation900, the housing 502 is oriented in the first orientation 902 and thestencil 704 is oriented in the first direction 904 (e.g., an uprightorientation). Thus, the lights 730 illuminate the respective visualindicators 720, the illuminated visual indicators 720 appear in anupright orientation. As shown in FIG. 13, the first visual indicator 720a is illuminated to identify that a panelist (e.g., the panelist 106 ofFIG. 1) assigned to the first visual indicator 720 a is present in amedia presentation environment. To this end, the meter 500 (e.g., via aprocessor, a logic circuit, etc.) causes the first light 730 a (FIG. 7)to illuminate the first visual indicator 704 a when the meter 500 isdetermined to be in the first mounting orientation 900 (e.g., using theorientation sensor described above and/or the stencil 704 is determinedto be in the first direction 904 (e.g., using the stencil sensor 760)).In addition, the cover 702 is semi-translucent to allow visualpresentation of only the illuminated visual indicators 720 (e.g., thefirst visual indicator 720 a of the illustrated example of FIG. 13) atthe display 504.

FIG. 14 illustrates the meter 500 of the illustrated example coupled tothe example media device 1300 in the second mounting orientation 1100(e.g., a below-television mounting configuration, a horizontalorientation). In the second mounting orientation 1100, the meter 500 ismounted to a lower surface 1402 of the media device 1300 in theorientation of FIG. 14. For example, in the second mounting orientation1100, the housing 502 is oriented in the second orientation 1102 and thestencil 704 is oriented in the first direction 904 (e.g., an uprightorientation). For example, the visual indicators 720 of the stencil 704are in an upright orientation (e.g., similar to the orientation of FIG.11). In this manner, when the lights 730 illuminates the respective thevisual indicators 720, the illuminated visual indicators appear in anupright orientation while the housing 502 (e.g., and the cover 702) isin the second orientation 1102 (e.g., an upside down orientation). Asshown in FIG. 16, the first visual indicator 720 a is illuminated toidentify that a panelist (e.g., the panelist 106 of FIG. 1) assigned tothe first visual indicator 720 a is present in a media presentationenvironment. Thus, although the housing 502 is in the second orientation1102 (e.g., an upside down orientation), the first visual indicator 720a is displayed in the upright orientation. Additionally, the meter 500(e.g., via a processor, a logic circuit, etc.) causes the second light730 b (FIG. 9) to illuminate the first visual indicator 720 a when themeter 500 is determined to be in the second mounting orientation 1100(e.g., using the orientation sensor described above and/or the stencil704 is determined to be in the first direction 904 (e.g., using thestencil sensor 760)).

FIG. 15 illustrates the example meter 500 disclosed herein configured ina third example mounting orientation 1500. In addition, the mountingsurface 508 of the housing 502 is oriented in a leftward orientation inthe orientation of FIG. 15. To configure the meter 500 for mounting inthe third mounting orientation 1500, the example meter 500 employs astencil 1502. In some examples, the stencil 1502 of the illustratedexample is interchangeable with the stencil 704 to configure the meter500 for mounting in the third mounting orientation 1500.

The stencil 1502 of the illustrated example has the same or similardimensional profile as the stencil 704. For example, a dimensionallength and/or a perimeter shape of the stencil 1502 of the illustratedexample is substantially similar to a dimensional length and/or aperimeter shape of the stencil 704. For example, the stencil 1502 of theillustrated example includes the tabs 762 and 764. Thus, the display 504of the meter 500 and/or the display area 722 of the example housing 502of the illustrated example provides a modular display to enableinterchangeability between different stencils such as, for example, thestencil 1502 and the stencil 704. In the illustrated example, thestencil 1502 includes visual indicators 1504 (e.g., indicia). Inparticular, the visual indicators 1504 are numerals presented in aportrait orientation to enable mounting the meter 500 to side surfaces(e.g., vertical surfaces) of the media device 1300. Thus, unlike thestencil 704, which presents the visual indicators 720 in a landscapeorientation, the example stencil 1502 of the illustrated examplepresents the visual indicators 1504 in the portrait orientation. In someexamples, the visual indicators 1504 may have, for example, alphacharacters, alphanumeric characters, symbols, and/or any other indicia.

In the example of FIG. 15, the cover 702 and the stencil 1502 of theillustrated example are shown removed from the housing 502 forillustrative purposes. In the third mounting orientation 1500, thehousing 502 of the illustrated example is shown in a third orientation1506 and the stencil 1502 is shown in a first orientation or a thirddirection 1508. In the third direction 1508, the visual indicators 1504of the stencil 1502 are oriented in an upright orientation. Thus, thestencil 1502 is properly oriented relative to the display area 722and/or the orientation of the housing 502 when the housing 502 is in thethird orientation 1506 and the stencil 1502 is in the third direction1508. For example, in the third mounting orientation 1500, the first tab762 of the stencil 1502 of the illustrated example is positioned in theslot 806 and the second tab 764 is positioned in the sensing slot 800,which is detectable by the sensor 760.

FIG. 16 illustrates the example stencil 1502 in a fourth direction 1602(e.g., in an opposite or inverted direction relative to the thirddirection 1508). In the fourth direction 1602, the visual indicators1504 appear in an inverted or upside-down orientation when the housing502 is in the third orientation 1506. When the stencil 1502 is in thefourth direction 1602 and the housing 502 is in the third orientation1506, the first tab 762 is positioned in the sensing slot 800 and thesecond tab 764 is in the slot 806. Thus, the meter 500 of theillustrated example determines that the stencil 1502 is properlyoriented when the housing 502 is detected in the third orientation 1506and the sensor 760 is in a triggered state or condition (e.g., thestencil 1502 is in the third direction 1508). Alternatively, the meter500 of the illustrated example determines stencil 1502 is improperlyoriented when the sensor 760 is in a non-triggered state or conditionwhen the housing 502 is in the third orientation 1506 (i.e., when thestencil 1502 is in the fourth direction 1602). In some example, themeter 500 emits an alarm to provide notification that the stencil 1502is improperly oriented relative to the housing 502.

FIG. 17 illustrates the meter 500 of the illustrated example of FIG. 17oriented in a fourth example mounting orientation 1700. In theillustrated example, the cover 702 and the stencil 1502 are removed fromthe housing 502 for illustrative purposes. In the illustrated example ofFIG. 17, the housing 502 of the illustrated example is shown in a fourthorientation 1702 and the stencil 1502 is positioned in the thirddirection 1508 (e.g., the upright orientation). For example, the visualindicators 1504 of the stencil 1502 of the illustrated example are shownin an upright orientation (e.g., similar to the orientation of FIG. 15).The stencil 1502 may be coupled to the display area 722 of the housing502 in the third direction 1508 while the housing 502 is in the fourthorientation 1702. In this manner, when the lights 730 illuminate therespective visual indicators 1504, the illuminated visual indicators1504 appear in an upright orientation even though the housing 502 is inthe fourth orientation 1702. In the illustrated example of FIG. 17, thefirst tab 762 of the stencil 1502 is positioned in the sensing slot 800and the second tab 764 is positioned in the slot 806. As a result, thesensor 760 is in a non-triggered state or condition when the housing 502is in the fourth orientation 1702 and the stencil 1502 is in the thirddirection 1508. Thus, the meter 500 of the illustrated exampledetermines that the stencil 1502 is in the proper orientation relativeto the housing 502 when the housing 502 is in the fourth orientation1702 and the sensor 760 is in a non-triggered or condition (e.g., thestencil 1502 is in the third direction 1508).

FIG. 18 illustrates the example stencil 1502 in a fourth direction 1602(e.g., in an opposite or inverted direction relative to the thirddirection 1508). In the fourth direction 1602, the visual indicators1504 appear in an inverted or upside-down orientation when the housing502 is in the fourth orientation 1702. When the stencil 1502 is in thefourth direction 1602 and the housing 502 is in the fourth orientation1702, the second tab 764 is positioned in the sensing slot 800 and thefirst tab 762 is positioned in the slot 806. In such examples, the meter500 determines that the stencil 1502 is improperly oriented when thehousing 502 is in the fourth orientation 1702 and the sensor 760 is in atriggered state or condition (i.e., the stencil 1502 is in the seconddirection 1509). In some example, the meter 500 emits an alarm toprovide notification that the stencil 1502 is improperly orientedrelative to the housing 502.

FIG. 19 is a partial, perspective view the example meter 500 of FIG. 15mounted to the example media device 1300 (e.g., a television) in thethird mounting orientation 1500 (e.g., the third mounting configuration300 of FIG. 3, a vertical orientation). In the third mountingorientation 1500, the meter 500 of the illustrated example is configuredfor a right-side media device mounting configuration. For example, inthe third mounting orientation 1500, the meter 500 of the illustratedexample is coupled to a right surface or right-side frame 1902 of themedia device 1300. As shown in FIG. 19, a first visual indicator 1504 ais illuminated in an upright orientation to identify that a panelist(e.g., the panelist 106 of FIG. 1) assigned to the first visualindicator 1504 a is present in a media presentation environment. To thisend, the meter 500 (e.g., via a processor, a logic circuit, etc.) causesthe first light 730 a (FIG. 9) to illuminate the first visual indicator1504 a when the meter 500 is determined to be in the third mountingorientation 1500 (e.g., using the orientation sensor described aboveand/or the stencil 1502 is determined to be in the third direction 1508(e.g., using the stencil sensor 760)).

FIG. 20 is a perspective view the example meter 500 of FIG. 18 mountedto the example media device 1300 in the fourth mounting orientation 1700(e.g., the fourth mounting configuration 400 of FIG. 4, a verticalorientation). In the fourth mounting orientation 1700, the meter 500 isconfigured for a left-side media device mounting configuration. Forexample, the meter 500 of the illustrated example is coupled to aleft-side surface or frame 2002 of the media device 1300. As shown inFIG. 20, the first visual indicator 1504 a is illuminated in an uprightorientation to identify that a panelist (e.g., the panelist 106 ofFIG. 1) assigned to the first visual indicator 1504 a is present in themedia presentation environment. Thus, although the housing 502 is in thefourth orientation 1702, the first visual indicator 1504 a is in anupright or right side up orientation. To this end, the meter 500 (e.g.,via a processor, a logic circuit, etc.) causes the second light 730 b(FIG. 9) to illuminate the first visual indicator 1504 a when the meter500 is determined to be in the fourth mounting orientation 1700 (e.g.,using the orientation sensor described above and/or the stencil 1502 isdetermined to be in the third direction 1508 (e.g., using the stencilsensor 760)).

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of the example meter 102, 500 of FIGS. 1-16,17A, 17 b, and 18-20. The example meter 102, 500 of the illustratedexample includes an example audio sensor 2102, an example mediaidentifier 2104, an example people identifier 2106, an examplecontroller 2108, an example data store 2110, an example networkcommunicator 2112, an example housing orientation sensor 2114, anexample stencil orientation sensor 2116, and example orientationvalidator 2118, a comparator 2120, an example display output controller2122, an example alarm generator 2124, an example battery 2126, and anexample power receiver 2128. In some examples, the example audio sensor2102, the example media identifier 2104, the example people identifier2106, the example controller 2108, the example data store 2110, theexample network communicator 2112, the example housing orientationsensor 2114, the example stencil orientation sensor 2116, the exampleorientation validator 2118, the comparator 2120, the example displayoutput controller 2122, the example alarm generator 2124, and theexample power receiver 2128 may implement the example circuit board 712of FIG. 7.

The example audio sensor 2102 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21 isan acoustic sensor, such as a microphone. The audio sensor 2102 receivesambient sound (e.g., free field audio) including audible media presentedin the vicinity of the meter 102, 500. Alternatively, the audio sensor2102 may be implemented by a line input connection. The line inputconnection may allow an external microphone and/or other acoustic sensorto be used with the meter 102, 500 and/or, in some examples, may enablethe audio sensor 2102 to be directly connected to an output of a mediadevice (e.g., an auxiliary output of a television, an auxiliary outputof an audio/video receiver of a home entertainment system, etc.).Advantageously, the meter 102, 500 is positioned in a location such thatthe audio sensor 2102 receives ambient audio produced by the mediadevice 110, 1300 and/or other devices of the home entertainment systemwith sufficient quality to identify media presented by the media device110, 1300 and/or other devices of the media presentation environment 104(e.g., the audio/video receiver). For example, in examples disclosedherein, the meter 102, 500 may be mounted to the media device 110, 1300in a plurality of different mounting orientations or configurations suchas, for example, the first mounting orientation 134, 900, the secondmounting orientation 200, 1100, the third mounting orientation 300, 1500or the fourth mounting orientation 400, 1700. For example, the meter102, 500 of the illustrated example may be placed on top of thetelevision, secured to the bottom of the television, etc.

The example media identifier 2104 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21analyzes audio received via the audio sensor 2102 and identifies themedia being presented. The example media identifier 2104 of theillustrated example outputs an identifier of the media (e.g.,media-identifying information) to the controller 2108 (e.g., an audiencemeasurement data controller). In the illustrated example of FIG. 21, theexample media identifier 2104 outputs a signal to noise ratio of themedia identifier. In examples disclosed herein, the media identifier2104 utilizes audio watermarking techniques to identify the media. Audiowatermarking is a technique used to identify media, such as televisionbroadcasts, radio broadcasts, advertisements (television and/or radio),downloaded media, streaming media, prepackaged media, etc. Audiowatermarking techniques identify media by embedding one or more audiocodes (e.g., one or more watermarks), such as media identifyinginformation and/or one or more identifier(s) that may be mapped to mediaidentifying information, into an audio and/or video component of themedia. In some examples, the audio and/or video component of the mediais selected to have a signal characteristic sufficient to hide thewatermark. As used herein, the terms “code” and/or “watermark” are usedinterchangeably and are defined to mean any identification information(e.g., an identifier) that may be inserted or embedded in the audio orvideo of media (e.g., a program or advertisement) for the purpose ofidentifying the media or for another purpose such as tuning (e.g., apacket identifying header). As used herein, “media” refers to audioand/or visual (still or moving) content and/or advertisements. In someexamples, to identify watermarked media, the watermark(s) are extractedand used to access a table of reference watermarks that are mapped tomedia identifying information.

In some examples, the media identifier 2104 may utilize signature-basedmedia identification techniques. Unlike media monitoring techniquesbased on codes and/or watermarks included with and/or embedded in themonitored media, fingerprint or signature-based media monitoringtechniques generally use one or more inherent characteristics of themonitored media during a monitoring time interval to generate asubstantially unique proxy for the media. Such a proxy is referred to asa signature or fingerprint, and can take any form (e.g., a series ofdigital values, a waveform, etc.) representative of any aspect(s) of themedia signal(s) (e.g., the audio and/or video signals forming the mediapresentation being monitored). A signature may be a series of signaturescollected in series over a time interval. A good signature is repeatablewhen processing the same media presentation, but is unique relative toother (e.g., different) presentations of other (e.g., different) media.Accordingly, the term “fingerprint” and “signature” are usedinterchangeably herein and are defined herein to mean a proxy foridentifying media that is generated from one or more inherentcharacteristics of the media.

Signature-based media monitoring generally involves determining (e.g.,generating and/or collecting) signature(s) representative of a mediasignal (e.g., an audio signal and/or a video signal) output by amonitored media device and comparing the monitored signature(s) to oneor more references signatures corresponding to known (e.g., reference)media sources. Various comparison criteria, such as a cross-correlationvalue, a Hamming distance, etc., can be evaluated to determine whether amonitored signature matches a particular reference signature. When amatch between the monitored signature and one of the referencesignatures is found, the monitored media can be identified ascorresponding to the particular reference media represented by thereference signature that with matched the monitored signature. Becauseattributes, such as an identifier of the media, a presentation time, abroadcast channel, etc., are collected for the reference signature,these attributes may then be associated with the monitored media whosemonitored signature matched the reference signature. Example systems foridentifying media based on codes and/or signatures are long known andwere first disclosed in Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,294, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

The example controller 2108 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21receives media identifying information (e.g., a code, a signature, etc.)from the media identifier 2104 and audience identification data from thepeople identifier 2106, and stores the received information in the datastore 2110. The example controller 2108 periodically and/ora-periodically transmits, via the network communicator 2112, theaudience measurement information stored in the data store 2110 to acentral facility such as, for example, the central facility 114 of FIG.1, for aggregation and/or preparation of media monitoring reports.

The example data store 2110 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21 may beimplemented by any device for storing data such as, for example, flashmemory, magnetic media, optical media, etc. Furthermore, the data storedin the example data store 2110 may be in any data format, such as, forexample, binary data, comma delimited data, tab delimited data,structured query language (SQL) structures, etc. In the illustratedexample, the example data store 2110 stores media identifyinginformation collected by the media identifier 2104 and audienceidentification data collected by the people identifier 2106. In someexamples, the example data store 2110 additionally stores panelistdemographic information such that received user identifiers of theaudience measurement data can be translated into demographic informationprior to transmission to the central facility 114.

The example people identifier 2106 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21determines audience identification data representative of the identitiesof the audience member(s) (e.g., panelists) present in the mediapresentation environment 104. In some examples, the people identifier2106 collects audience identification data by periodically ora-periodically prompting audience members in the media presentationenvironment 104 to identify themselves as present in the audience.Panelists may identify themselves by, for example, pressing a button ona remote, speaking their name, etc. In some examples, the peopleidentifier 2106 prompts the audience member(s) to self-identify inresponse to one or more predetermined events (e.g., when the mediadevice 110 is turned on, a channel is changed, an infrared controlsignal is detected, etc.). The people identifier 2106 provides theaudience identification data to the controller 2108 such that theaudience measurement data can be correlated with the mediaidentification data to facilitate an identification of which media waspresented to which audience member.

The example network communicator 2112 of the illustrated example of FIG.21 transmits audience measurement information provided by the controller2108 (e.g., data stored in the data store 2110) to the central facility114 of the audience measurement entity. In the illustrated example, thenetwork communicator 2112 is implemented by an Ethernet port thatcommunicates via an Ethernet network (e.g., a local area network (LAN)).In some examples, the network communicator 2112 facilitates wirelesscommunication via a WiFi network hosted by the example gateway 116 ofFIG. 1.

The housing orientation sensor 2114 of the illustrated example of FIG.21 senses or detects an orientation of the meter 102, 500 (e.g., amounting configuration or orientation of the housing 502). In someexamples, the housing orientation sensor 2114 of the illustrated exampleof FIG. 21 provides a signal representative of the housing 502 being inan orientation such as, for example, the first orientation 902, thesecond orientation 1102, the third orientation 1506, or the fourthorientation 1702. In some examples, the housing orientation sensor 2114of the illustrated example may provide a signal representative of thehousing 502 being in an orientation other than the first orientation902, the second orientation 1102, the third orientation 1506, or thefourth orientation 1702 (e.g., an improper orientation, an orientationindicative of the housing 502 having fallen off the media device 110,1300, etc.). The housing orientation sensor 2114 of the illustratedexample of FIG. 21 is an accelerometer. However, in some examples, thehousing orientation sensor 2114 may be a gyroscope, a combinationaccelerometer and gyroscope, an inertial measurement apparatus, and/orany device, apparatus or system to determine or sense a position and/ororientation of the meter 102, 500 (e.g., the housing 502).

The stencil orientation sensor 2116 of the illustrated example of FIG.21 detects or senses an orientation of the stencil 704, 1502. Forexample, the stencil orientation sensor 2116 of the illustrated exampledetermines if the stencil 704 is in the first direction 904 or thesecond direction 1002 opposite the first direction 904, and/ordetermines if the stencil 1502 is in the third direction 1508 or afourth direction 1602 opposite the third direction 1508. The stencilorientation sensor 2116 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21 may becommunicatively coupled to the sensing slot 800 of the first panel 708.For example, the stencil orientation sensor 2116 may include the trigger960 (e.g., a proximity switch or a contact) positioned in the sensingslot 800. The stencil orientation sensor 2116 provides a signal when,for example, the second tab 764 of the stencil 704 or the stencil 1502is positioned in the sensing slot 800.

The stencil orientation sensor 2116 of the illustrated example of FIG.21 is a contact switch (e.g., the stencil sensor 760 of FIG. 7). In someexamples, the stencil orientation sensor 2116 may include two or moresensors (e.g., contact sensors) positioned in the sensing slot 800, theslot 806, and/or any other position along the display area 722. In someexamples, the stencil orientation sensor 2116 may be an optical sensorto detect an orientation of the visual indicators 720 or 1504 and/or thetabs 762 and 764 of the respective stencils 704 and 1502.

The orientation validator 2118 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21 maybe implemented with logic gates, logic circuit, a digital circuit, orother logic circuits or devices. However, in some examples, theorientation validator 2118 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21 may beimplemented with a processor executing instructions. The orientationvalidator 2118 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21 generally detectsor verifies an orientation of the housing 502 and/or an orientation ordirection of the stencil 704, 1502 relative to the housing 502. Todetect the orientation of the housing 502 and/or the stencil 704, 1502,the orientation validator 2118 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21 iscommunicatively coupled to the housing orientation sensor 2114 and thestencil orientation sensor 2116. For example, the orientation validator2118 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21 detects or verifies theorientation of the housing 502 and the orientation of the stencil 704,1502 based on the signals received from the respective housingorientation sensor 2114 and/or the stencil orientation sensor 2116.

For example, the orientation validator 2118 of the illustrated exampleof FIG. 21 determines if the housing 502 is properly oriented or mountedrelative to, for example, the media device 110, 1300. For example, theorientation validator 2118 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21determines that the housing 502 is properly oriented or mounted relativeto the media device 110, 1300 when the housing 502 is in one of thefirst orientation 902, the second orientation 1102, the thirdorientation 1506, or the fourth orientation 1702. To determine theorientation of the housing 502, the orientation validator 2118 of theillustrated example of FIG. 21 employs the comparator 2120 to comparethe input signals provided by the housing orientation sensor 2114 tovalues representative of the respective orientations 902, 1102, 1506,and 1702 of the housing 502.

The orientation validator 2118 and/or the controller 2108 of theillustrated example command the display output controller 2122. In someexamples, the example orientation validator 2118 and/or the controller2108 may command the display output controller 2122 to control operationof the lights 730 based on a detected mounting orientation of thehousing 502 (e.g., the first orientation 902, the second orientation1102, the third orientation 1506, or the fourth orientation 1702) and/orbased on a detected direction of the stencil 704, 1502 (e.g., the firstdirection 904, the second direction 1002, the third direction 1508, andthe fourth direction 1602). For example, the display output controller2122 may control a particular light 730 associated with a particularvisual indicator 720 of the stencil 704 or the visual indicator 1504 ofthe stencil 1502 based on the detected orientation of the housing 502,the detected orientation of the stencil 704, 1502, or a combination ofthe two).

In some examples, when the orientation validator 2118 determines that adetected orientation of the housing 502 is in the first orientation 902or the third orientation 1506, the orientation validator 2118 or thecontroller 2108 causes the display output controller 2122 to associateor assign the first light 730 a with the first visual indicator 720 a ofthe stencil 704 (or the first visual indicator 1504 a of the stencil1502) and associate or assign the second light 730 b with the secondvisual indicator 720 b of the stencil 704 (or the second visualindicator 1504 b of the stencil 1502). For example, if a panelistassociated with the first visual indicator 720 a, 1504 a self-identifieswhen the orientation validator 2118 detects the orientation of thehousing 502 in the first orientation 902 or the third orientation 1506,the display output controller 2122 illuminates the first light 730 a.

In some examples, when the orientation validator 2118 determines theorientation of the housing 502 is in the second orientation 1102 or thethird orientation 1702, the orientation validator 2118 or the controller2108 causes the display output controller 2122 to associate or assignthe first light 730 a with the second visual indicator 720 b of thestencil 704 (or the second visual indicator 1504 b of the stencil 1502)and associate or assign the second light 730 b with the first visualindicator 720 a of the stencil 704 (or the first visual indicator 1504 aof the stencil 1502). For example, if a panelist associated with thefirst visual indicator 720 a, 1504 a self-identifies when theorientation validator 2118 detects the orientation of the housing 502 inthe second orientation 1102 or the fourth orientation 1702, the displayoutput controller 2122 illuminates the second light 730 b.

In some examples, when the stencil orientation sensor 2116 provides asignal to the orientation validator 2118 indicative of the stencilorientation sensor 2116 being in a triggered state or condition (e.g.,the second tab 764 positioned in the sensing slot 800 and the first tab762 positioned in the slot 806), the orientation validator 2118 or thecontroller 2108 causes the display output controller 2122 to associateor assign the first light 730 a with the first visual indicator 720 a ofthe stencil 704 (or the first visual indicator 1504 a of the stencil1502) and associate or assign the second light 730 b with the secondvisual indicator 720 b of the stencil 704 (or the second visualindicator 1504 b of the stencil 1502). For example, if a panelistassociated with the first visual indicator 720 a, 1504 a self-identifieswhen the orientation validator 2118 detects the stencil orientationsensor 2116 is in a triggered state, the display output controller 2122illuminates the first light 730 a.

In some examples, when the stencil orientation sensor 2116 provides asignal to the orientation validator 2118 indicative of the stencilorientation sensor 2116 being in a non-triggered state or condition(e.g., the first tab 762 positioned in the sensing slot 800 and thesecond tab 764 positioned in the slot 806), the orientation validator2118 or the controller 2108 causes the display output controller 2122 toassociate or assign the first light 730 a with the second visualindicator 720 b of the stencil 704 (or the second visual indicator 1504b of the stencil 1502) and associate or assign the second light 730 bwith the first visual indicator 720 a of the stencil 704 (or the firstvisual indicator 1504 a of the stencil 1502). For example, if a panelistassociated with the first visual indicator 720 a, 1504 a self-identifieswhen the orientation validator 2118 detects the stencil orientationsensor 2116 is not triggered, the display output controller 2122illuminates the second light 730 b.

In some examples, when the orientation validator 2118 determines thatthe detected orientation of the housing 502 is in the first orientation902 or the third orientation 1506 and the orientation validator 2118determines that the stencil orientation sensor 2116 is in a triggeredstate, the orientation validator 2118 or the controller 2108 causes thedisplay output controller 2122 to associate or assign the first light730 a with the first visual indicator 720 a of the stencil 704 (or thefirst visual indicator 1504 a of the stencil 1502) and associate orassign the second light 730 b with the second visual indicator 720 b ofthe stencil 704 (or the second visual indicator 1504 b of the stencil1502). For example, if a panelist associated with the first visualindicator 720 a, 1504 a self-identifies when the orientation validator2118 detects the orientation of the housing 502 is in the firstorientation 902 or the third orientation 1506 and detects the stencilorientation sensor 2116 in a triggered state, the display outputcontroller 2122 illuminates the first light 730 a.

In some examples, when the orientation validator 2118 determines theorientation of the housing 502 is in the second orientation 1102 or thefourth orientation 1702 and determines that the stencil orientationsensor 2116 is not in a triggered state, the orientation validator 2118or the controller 2108 causes the display output controller 2122 toassociate or assign the first light 730 a with the second visualindicator 720 b of the stencil 704 (or the second visual indicator 1504b of the stencil 1502) and associate or assign the second light 730 bwith the first visual indicator 720 a of the stencil 704 (or the firstvisual indicator 1504 a of the stencil 1502). For example, if a panelistassociated with the first visual indicator 720 a, 1504 a self-identifieswhen the orientation validator 2118 detects the orientation of thehousing 502 in the second orientation 1102 or the fourth orientation1702 and the stencil orientation sensor 2116 is not triggered, thedisplay output controller 2122 illuminates the second light 730 b.

In some examples, the operation of the stencil orientation sensor 2116is not limited to the described examples but, for example, could bereversed (e.g., behavior associated with the stencil orientation sensor2116 being triggered could alternatively be associated with the stencilorientation sensor 2116 not being triggered, and vice versa. In someexamples, the stencil orientation sensor 2116 may include multiplesensors (e.g., two contact switches) positioned in the sensing slot 800and/or the slot 806 that may be configured to distinguish between thefirst tab 762 and the second tab 764.

In some examples, the orientation validator 2118 determines if thehousing 502 is oriented in a position that is not one of the firstorientation 902, the second orientation 1102, the third orientation1506, or the fourth orientation 1702. For example, if the orientationvalidator 2118 determines that the orientation of the housing 502 is notin one of the first orientation 902, the second orientation 1102, thethird orientation 1506, or the fourth orientation 1702, the orientationvalidator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is in an improperorientation.

In some such examples, the orientation validator 2118 may command thecontroller 2108 and/or the alarm generator 2124 to initiate an alarm orwarning until the orientation validator 2118 determines that theorientation of the housing 502 is the first orientation 902, the secondorientation 1102, the third orientation 1506, or the fourth orientation1702. The alarm generator 2124 may initiate an audible alarm via, forexample, a speaker (e.g., positioned or coupled to the circuit board712) of the meter 102, 500 and/or a visual alarm via, for example, thelights 730, the status indicator light 731 and/or any other light of themeter 102, 500. For example, the alarm generator 2124 may cause thedisplay output controller 2122 to illuminate one or more of the lights730, the status indicator light 731 and/or another other light of themeter 102, 500.

Additionally, the orientation validator 2118 of the illustrated exampleof FIG. 21 determines or verifies if the stencil 704 or 1502 is properlyoriented relative to the determined orientation of the housing 502. Forexample, to determine the direction of the stencil 704, 1502, theorientation validator 2118 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21 employsthe comparator 2120 to compare a signal provided with the stencilorientation sensor 2116 with the signal provided by the housingorientation sensor 2114. In other words, the orientation validator 2118determines if the stencil 704 or 1502 is properly oriented relative to adetected orientation of the housing 502.

In some examples, the orientation validator 2118 determines the stencil704, 1502 is properly oriented relative to an orientation of the housing502 when the orientation validator 2118 receives a signal from thehousing orientation sensor 2114 indicative of the housing 502 being inthe first orientation 902 or the third orientation 1506 and theorientation validator 2118 receives a signal from the stencilorientation sensor 2116 that the stencil orientation sensor 2116 is in atriggered state or condition (e.g., the second tab 764 positioned in thesensing slot 800 and the first tab 762 positioned in the slot 806).

In some examples, the orientation validator 2118 determines the stencil704, 1502 is properly oriented relative to an orientation of the housing502 when the orientation validator 2118 receives a signal from thehousing orientation sensor 2114 indicative of the housing 502 being inthe second orientation 1102 or the fourth orientation 1702 and theorientation validator 2118 receives a signal from the stencilorientation sensor 2116 indicative of the stencil orientation sensor2116 being in a non-triggered state or condition (e.g., the first tab762 positioned in the sensing slot 800 and the second tab 764 positionedin the slot 806).

In some examples, the orientation validator 2118 determines that thestencil 704, 1502 is improperly oriented relative to the housing 502. Insome such examples, the orientation validator 2118 determines that thestencil 704, 1502 is improperly oriented relative to the housing 502when the housing orientation sensor 2114 provides a signal to theorientation validator 2118 indicative of the housing 502 being in thefirst orientation 902 or the third orientation 1506 and the stencilorientation sensor 2116 provides a signal to the orientation validator2118 indicative of the indicative of the stencil orientation sensor 2116being in a non-triggered state or condition (e.g., the first tab 762positioned in the sensing slot 800 and the second tab 764 positioned inthe slot 806).

In some examples, the orientation validator 2118 determines that thestencil 704 or 1502 is improperly oriented relative to the housing 502when the housing orientation sensor 2114 provides a signal to theorientation validator 2118 indicative of the housing 502 being in thesecond orientation 1102 or the fourth orientation 1702 and receives asignal from the stencil orientation sensor 2116 indicative of thestencil orientation sensor 2116 being in a triggered state or condition(e.g., the second tab 764 positioned in the sensing slot 800 and thefirst tab 762 positioned in the slot 806).

In some examples, the orientation validator 2118 and/or the controller21089 provide an alarm or warning via the alarm generator 2124 when thestencil 704, 1502 is improperly oriented relative to a detectedorientation of the housing 502. The alarm generator 2124 may initiate anaudible alarm via, for example, a speaker of the meter 102, 500 and/or avisual alarm via, for example, the lights 730, the status indicatorlight 731 and/or any other light of the meter 102, 500. For example, thealarm generator 2124 may cause the display output controller 2122 toilluminate one or more of the lights 730 and/or another other light ofthe meter 102, 500.

The example power receiver 2128 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21 isimplemented as a universal serial bus (USB) receptacle (e.g., the firstconnector 602) and enables the meter 102, 500 to be connected to a powersource via a cable (e.g., a USB cable). In examples disclosed herein,the media device 110, 1300 has a USB port that provides electrical powerto, for example, an external device such as the meter 102, 500. In someexamples, the media device 110, 1300 may provide power to an externaldevice via a different type of port such as, for example, a HighDefinition Media Interface (HDMI) port, an Ethernet port, etc. Theexample power receiver 2128 may be implemented in any fashion tofacilitate receipt of electrical power from the media device 110 or anyother power source (e.g., a wall outlet).

The example battery 2126 of the illustrated example of FIG. 21 storespower for use by the meter 102, 500. The example battery 2126 enablesoperation of the meter 102, 500 when power is not being supplied to themeter 102, 500 via the power receiver 2128. In the illustrated exampleof FIG. 21, the example battery 2126 is implemented using a lithium-ionbattery. However, any other type of battery may additionally oralternatively be used. In the illustrated example of FIG. 21, theexample battery 2126 is rechargeable. As such, the example battery 2126may be recharged while the meter 102, 500 receives power via the powerreceiver 2128 (e.g., while the media device 110, 1300 is powered on), tofacilitate operation of the meter 102, 500 when the meter 102, 500 isnot receiving power via the power receiver 2128 (e.g., while the mediadevice 110, 1300 is powered off). However, in some examples, the examplebattery 2126 may be non-rechargeable.

While an example manner of implementing the meter 102, 500 of FIGS.1-16, 17A, 17B and 1-20 is illustrated in FIG. 21, one or more of theelements, processes and/or devices illustrated in FIG. 21 may becombined, divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implementedin any other way. Further, the example audio sensor 2102, the examplemedia identifier 2104, the example people identifier 2106, the examplecontroller 2108, the example data store 2110, the example networkcommunicator 2112, the example housing orientation sensor 2114, theexample stencil orientation sensor 2116, the example orientationvalidator 2118, the comparator 2120, the example display outputcontroller 2122, the example alarm generator 2124, and/or the examplepower receiver 2128 and/or, more generally, the example meter 102, 500of FIGS. 1-16, 17A, 17B, and 18-20 may be implemented by hardware,software, firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/orfirmware. Thus, for example, any of the example audio sensor 2102, theexample media identifier 2104, the example people identifier 2106, theexample controller 2108, the example data store 2110, the examplenetwork communicator 2112, the example housing orientation sensor 2114,the example stencil orientation sensor 2116, the example orientationvalidator 2118, the comparator 2120, the example display outputcontroller 2122, the example alarm generator 2124, and/or the examplepower receiver 2128 and/or, more generally, the example meter 102, 500could be implemented by one or more analog or digital circuit(s), logiccircuits, programmable processor(s), application specific integratedcircuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or fieldprogrammable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)). When reading any of theapparatus or system claims of this patent to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the example audio sensor2102, the example media identifier 2104, the example people identifier2106, the example controller 2108, the example data store 2110, theexample network communicator 2112, the example housing orientationsensor 2114, the example stencil orientation sensor 2116, the exampleorientation validator 2118, the comparator 2120, the example displayoutput controller 2122, the example alarm generator 2124, and/or theexample power receiver 2128 is/are hereby expressly defined to include atangible computer readable storage device or storage disk such as amemory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-raydisk, etc. storing the software and/or firmware. Further still, theexample meter 102, 500 of FIGS. 1-16, 17A, 17B, and 18-20 may includeone or more elements, processes and/or devices in addition to, orinstead of, those illustrated in FIG. 21, and/or may include more thanone of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes and devices.

Flowcharts representative of example machine readable instructions forimplementing the meter 102, 500 of FIG. 21 is shown in FIGS. 22-27. Inthis example, the machine readable instructions comprise a program forexecution by a processor such as the processor 2612 shown in the exampleprocessor platform 2600 discussed below in connection with FIG. 26. Theprogram may be embodied in software stored on a tangible computerreadable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, adigital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associatedwith the processor 2612, but the entire program and/or parts thereofcould alternatively be executed by a device other than the processor2612 and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware. Further,although the example program is described with reference to theflowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 22-27, many other methods ofimplementing the example meter 102, 500 may alternatively be used. Forexample, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/orsome of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 22-25 may beimplemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machinereadable instructions) stored on a tangible computer readable storagemedium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory(ROM), a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a cache, arandom-access memory (RAM) and/or any other storage device or storagedisk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extendedtime periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarilybuffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, theterm tangible computer readable storage medium is expressly defined toinclude any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage diskand to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. Asused herein, “tangible computer readable storage medium” and “tangiblemachine readable storage medium” are used interchangeably. Additionallyor alternatively, the example processes of FIGS. 22-27 may beimplemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machinereadable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/ormachine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, aread-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, arandom-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk inwhich information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended timeperiods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering,and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the termnon-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to includeany type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and toexclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. As usedherein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in apreamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term“comprising” is open ended.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions 2200 that may be executed to implement the meter 102, 500of FIGS. 1-16, 17A, and 18-21 to determine a housing orientation and/ora stencil orientation. The program of FIG. 22 begins at block 2202 whenthe example orientation validator 2118 determines the orientation of theexample housing 502 (block 2202). For example, the orientation validator2118 determines the orientation of the housing 502 based on a signalreceived from the housing orientation sensor 2114.

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is notin a proper orientation (block 2204 returns a result of NO), the exampleorientation validator 2118 commands the alarm generator 2124 to output afirst alarm (block 2206). In some examples, the first alarm may be anaudible alarm generated by the alarm generator 2124 via, for example, aspeaker. In some examples, the first alarm may be a visual alarmgenerated by the alarm generator 2124 and/or the display outputcontroller via, for example, one or more of the lights 730 and/or anyother light of the meter 102, 500 (e.g., a status indicator lightpositioned on the circuit board 712).

The orientation validator 2118 also determines the orientation of thestencil 704, 1502 (block 2208). For example, the orientation validator2118 determines the orientation of the stencil 704, 1502 based on asignal received from the stencil orientation sensor 2116. In particular,the orientation validator 2118 determines if the stencil 704, 1502 is ina proper orientation (block 2210). For example, the orientationvalidator 2118 determines that the stencil 704, 1502 is in a properorientation when the signal received from the stencil orientation sensor2116 is indicative of the stencil 704 or the stencil 1502 being in thefirst direction 904 or the third direction 1508 when the orientationvalidator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is in one of the firstorientation 902 or the third orientation 1506, or the stencil 704, 1502being in the second direction 1002 or the fourth direction 1602 when thehousing 502 is in one of the second orientation 1102 or the fourthorientation 1702.

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the stencil 704 or thestencil 1502 is not in a proper orientation (block 2210 returns a resultof NO), the example orientation validator 2118 commands the alarmgenerator 2124 to output a second alarm (block 2212). In some examples,the alarm generator 2124 may generate an audible alarm via, for example,a speaker. In some examples, the alarm generator 2124 may generate avisual alarm via, for example, one or more of the lights 730 and/or anyother light of the meter 102, 500 (e.g., a light positioned on thecircuit board 712). In some examples, the first alarm generated at block2206 is the same as the second alarm generated at block 2212. In someexamples, the first alarm generated at block 2206 is different than thesecond alarm generated at block 2212. In some examples, the first alarmis an audible alarm and the second alarm is a visual alarm.

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the stencil 704 or thestencil 1502 is in a proper orientation (block 2210 returns a result ofYES), the example orientation validator 2118 causes the display outputcontroller 2122 to operate the lights 730 in a specific pattern (block2214). For example, the display output controller 2122 controls theillumination of the lights 730 to provide a light pattern based on thedetected orientation of the housing 502 and/or by detecting direction ofthe stencil 704, 1502.

In a first example, if the orientation validator 2118 determines that anorientation of the housing 502 is in the first orientation 902 or thethird orientation 1506, the display output controller 2122 associatesthe first light 730 a to the first visual indicator 720 a, 1504 a andassociates the second light 730 b to the second visual indicator 720 b,1504 b. In such an example, if the orientation validator 2118 determinesthat an orientation of the housing 502 is in the second orientation 1102or the fourth orientation 1702, the display output controller 2122associates the first light 730 a to the second visual indicator 720 b,1504 b and assigns the first light 730 a to the first visual indicator720 a, 1504 a.

In a second example, if the orientation validator 2118 determines thatan orientation of the stencil 704, 1502 is such that the stencilorientation sensor 2116 is triggered (e.g., the second tab 764 ispositioned in the sensing slot 800), the display output controller 2122associates the first light 730 a to the first visual indicator 720 a,1504 a and associates the second light 730 b to the second visualindicator 720 b, 1504 b. In such an example, if the orientationvalidator 2118 determines that an orientation of the stencil 704, 1502is such that the stencil orientation sensor 2116 is not triggered (e.g.,the first tab 762 is in the sensing slot 800), the display outputcontroller 2122 associates the first light 730 a to the second visualindicator 720 b, 1504 b and assigns the first light 730 a to the firstvisual indicator 720 a, 1504 a.

In a third example, the orientation validator 2118 determines theoperation of the lights 730 based on a combination of the orientation ofthe housing 502 and the orientation of the stencil 704, 1502. In such anexample, if the orientation validator 2118 determines that anorientation of the housing 502 is in the first orientation 902 or thethird orientation 1506, and the orientation validator 2118 determinesthat the orientation of the stencil 704, 1502 is such that the stencilorientation sensor 2116 is triggered (e.g., the second tab 764 ispositioned in the sensing slot 800), the display output controller 2122associates the first light 730 a to the first visual indicator 720 a,1504 a and associates the second light 730 b to the second visualindicator 720 b, 1504 b. In such an example, if the orientationvalidator 2118 determines that an orientation of the housing 502 is inthe second orientation 1102 or the fourth orientation 1702 and theorientation validator 2118 determines that an orientation of the stencil704, 1502 is such that the stencil orientation sensor 2116 is nottriggered (e.g., the first tab 762 is in the sensing slot 800), thedisplay output controller 2122 associates the first light 730 a to thesecond visual indicator 720 b, 1504 b and assigns the first light 730 ato the first visual indicator 720 a, 1504 a. In some such examples, ifneither of the foregoing conditions is detected, the second orientation1102 determines the combined orientations of the stencil 704, 1502 andthe housing 502 are invalid, and causes the display output controller2122 to operate the lights 730 to indicate (e.g., by causing the lights730 to blink periodically or according to some other pattern) an invalidorientation combination has been detected. The program returns to block2202.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions 2300 that may be executed by the example meter 102, 500 ofFIGS. 1-16, 17A, and 18-21 to determine if the housing 502 is in aproper orientation. The program of FIG. 23 begins at block 2302 when theexample orientation validator 2118 receives a signal from the housingorientation sensor 2114 (block 2302). For example, the orientationvalidator 2118 may receive a signal from an accelerometer representativeof the orientation of the housing 502 relative to the media device 110,1300.

The orientation validator 2118 determines the orientation of the housing502 based on the received signal from the housing orientation sensor2114 (block 2304). If the signal received by the orientation validator2118 is indicative of the housing 502 being in the first orientation 902(block 2306), the orientation validator 2118 determines that the housing502 is in the first orientation (block 2308).

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the signal receivedfrom the housing orientation sensor 2114 is not indicative of thehousing 502 being in the first orientation 902 (block 2306 results inNO), the orientation validator 2118 determines if the housing 502 is inthe second orientation 1102 (block 2310). If the signal received by theorientation validator 2118 is indicative of the housing 502 being in thesecond orientation 1102 at block 2310, the orientation validator 2118determines that the housing 502 is in the second orientation 1102 (block2312).

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the signal receivedfrom the housing orientation sensor 2114 is not indicative of thehousing 502 being in the second orientation 1102 (block 2310 results inNO), the orientation validator 2118 determines if the housing 502 is inthe third orientation 1506 (block 2314). If the signal received by theorientation validator 2118 indicates the housing 502 is in the thirdorientation 1506 at block 2314, the orientation validator 2118determines that the housing 502 is in the third orientation 1506 (block2316).

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the signal receivedfrom the housing orientation sensor 2114 is not indicative of thehousing 502 being in the third orientation 1506 (block 2314 results inNO), the orientation validator 2118 determines if the housing 502 is inthe fourth orientation 1702 (block 2318). If the signal received by theorientation validator 2118 indicates that the housing 502 is in thefourth orientation 1702 at block 2318, the orientation validator 2118determines that the housing 502 is in the fourth orientation (block2320).

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is ineither the first orientation 902, the second orientation 1102, the thirdorientation 1506 or the fourth orientation 1820 (blocks 2306-2320), theorientation validator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is in theproper orientation (block 2322). In some examples, the orientationvalidator 2118 may store in memory (e.g., the data store 2110) a valuerepresentative of the orientation of the housing in the firstorientation (block 2308), the second orientation (block 2312), the thirdorientation (block 2316) or the fourth orientation (block 2318). Thestored housing orientation information may be retrieved from memory bythe orientation validator 2118 to determine if the stencil 704, 1502 isproperly oriented relative to the determined orientation of the housing502 and/or the light pattern (e.g., block 2214 of FIG. 22) to beprovided by the display output controller 2122.

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is notin the first orientation 902, the second orientation 1102, the thirdorientation 1506 or the fourth orientation 1820 at blocks 2306, 2310,2314 and 2318, respectively, the orientation validator 2118 determinesthat the orientation of the housing 502 is improper (block 2324).

FIG. 24 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions 2400 that may be executed by the meter 102, 500 of FIGS.1-16, 17A, and 18-21 to determine if the stencil 704, 1502 is in theproper orientation (e.g., block 2210 of FIG. 22). The program of FIG. 24begins when the orientation validator 2118 determines or obtains theorientation of the housing 502 (block 2402). For example, theorientation validator 2118 may determine the housing orientation fromthe example program 2300 of FIG. 23. The orientation validator 2118receives a signal from the stencil orientation sensor 2116 (block 2404).The orientation validator 2118 determines if the housing 502 is in thefirst orientation 902 or the third orientation 1506 (block 2406).

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is inthe first orientation 902 or the third orientation 1506 at block 2406,the orientation validator 2118 determines if the signal received fromthe stencil orientation sensor 2116 is indicative of the stencil sensor760 being in a triggered state or condition (block 2408). If theorientation validator 2118 determines that the stencil orientationsensor 2116 is triggered at block 2408, the orientation validator 2118determines that the stencil 704, 1502 is in a proper orientation (block2410). For example, the orientation of the stencil 704 is proper whenthe housing 502 is in the first orientation 902 and the second tab 764of the stencil 704 is in the sensing slot 800. Alternatively, theorientation of the stencil 1502 is proper when the housing 502 is in thethird orientation 1506 and the second tab 764 of the stencil 1502 is inthe sensing slot 800.

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the stencilorientation sensor 2116 is in not triggered at block 2408, theorientation validator 2118 determines that the orientation of thestencil 704, 1502 is not proper (block 2412). For example, theorientation of the stencil 704 is improper when the housing 502 is inthe first orientation 902 and the second tab 764 of the stencil 704 isin the slot 806. Alternatively, the orientation of the stencil 1502 isimproper when the housing 502 is in the third orientation 1506 and thesecond tab 764 of the stencil 1502 is in the slot 806.

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is notin the first orientation 902 or the third orientation 1506 at block2406, the orientation validator 2118 determines if the housing 502 is inthe second orientation 1102 or the fourth orientation 1702 (block 2414).The orientation validator 2118 determines if the signal received fromthe stencil orientation sensor 2116 is indicative of the stencil sensor760 being in a triggered or active state or condition (block 2416).

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the signal provided bythe stencil orientation sensor 2116 is indicative of a non-triggeredstate or condition at block 2416, the orientation validator 2118determines that the stencil 704, 1502 is in a proper orientation (block2418). For example, the orientation of the stencil 704 is proper whenthe housing 502 is in the second orientation 1102 and the second tab 764of the stencil 704 is in the slot 806. Alternatively, the orientation ofthe stencil 1502 is proper when the housing 502 is in the fourthorientation 1702 and the second tab 764 of the stencil 1502 is in theslot 806.

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the signal provided bythe stencil orientation sensor 2116 is indicative of a triggered stateor condition at block 2416, the orientation determiner determines thatthe orientation of the stencil 704, 1502 is not proper (block 2420). Forexample, the orientation of the stencil 704 is not proper when thehousing 502 is in the second orientation 1102 and the second tab 764 ofthe stencil 704 is in the sensing slot 800. Alternatively, theorientation of the stencil 1502 is not proper when the housing 502 is inthe fourth orientation 1702 and the second tab 764 of the stencil 1502is in the sensing slot 800.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart representative of first example machine-readableinstructions 2500 that may be executed by the meter 102, 500 of FIGS.1-16, 17A, and 18-21 to control the lights 730 of the meter 102, 500(e.g., block 2214 of FIG. 22) based on a detected housing orientation.The program of FIG. 25 begins when the orientation validator 2118determines the orientation of the housing 502 (block 2502). For example,the orientation validator 2118 may determine the orientation of thehousing 502 from the example program 2300 of FIG. 23. If the orientationvalidator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is in the firstorientation 902 or the third orientation 1506 (block 2504), then thedisplay output controller 2122 causes the first light 730 a toilluminate the first visual indicator 720 a of the stencil 704 or thefirst visual indicator 1504 a of the stencil 1502, and causes the secondlight 730 b to illuminate the second visual indicator 720 b of thestencil 704 or the second visual indicator 1504 b of the stencil 1502.

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is notin the first orientation 902 or the third orientation 1506 at block2504, then the display output controller 2122 causes the first light 730a to illuminate the second visual indicator 720 b of the stencil 704 orthe second visual indicator 1504 b of the stencil 1502, and causes thesecond light 730 b to illuminate the first visual indicator 720 a of thestencil 704 or the first visual indicator 1504 a of the stencil 1502(block 2508). For example, the display output controller 2122 reversesthe operation of the lights 730 when the housing 502 is in the secondorientation 1102 or the fourth orientation 1702.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart representative of second example machine-readableinstructions 2600 that may be executed by the meter 102, 500 of FIGS.1-16, 17A, and 18-21 to control the lights 730 of the meter 102, 500(e.g., block 2208 of FIG. 22) based on a detected stencil direction. Theprogram of FIG. 26 begins when the orientation validator 2118 receives astencil orientation signal from the stencil orientation sensor 2116(block 2602). Based on the received signal from the stencil orientationsensor 2116, the orientation validator 2118 determines if the stencilorientation sensor 2116 is in a triggered state (block 2604). Forexample, the stencil orientation sensor 2116 is in a triggered statewhen the second tab 764 of the stencil 704, 1502 is in the sensingchamber 800 and triggers the sensor 760. If the orientation validator2118 determines that the stencil orientation sensor 2116 is in atriggered state at block 2604, the validation determiner 2118 commandsor causes the display output controller 2122 to operate the first light730 a to illuminate the first visual indicator 720 a of the stencil 704or the first visual indicator 1504 a of the stencil 1502, and commandsor causes the display output controller 2122 to associate or operate thesecond light 730 b to illuminate the second visual indicator 720 b ofthe stencil 704 or the second visual indicator 1504 b of the secondstencil 1502 (block 2606).

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the stencilorientation sensor 2116 is in a non-triggered state at block 2604, thevalidation determiner 2118 commands or causes the display outputcontroller 2122 to associate or operate the second light 730 b toilluminate the first visual indicator 720 a of the stencil 704 or thefirst visual indicator 1504 b of the stencil 1502, and associate oroperate the first light 730 a to illuminate the second visual indicator720 b of the stencil 704 or the second visual indicator 1504 b of thestencil 1502 (block 2608). For example, the display output controller2122 reverses the operation of the lights 730 when the stencil 704, 1502does not trigger the stencil orientation sensor 2116 (e.g., the sensor760).

FIG. 27 is a flowchart representative of third example machine-readableinstructions 2600 that may be executed by the meter 102, 500 of FIGS.1-16, 17A, and 18-21 to control the lights 730 of the meter 102, 500(e.g., block 2208 of FIG. 22) based on a detected housing orientationand a detected stencil direction. The program of FIG. 27 begins when theorientation validator 2118 receives the orientation of the housing 502(block 2702) and the orientation of the stencil 704, 1502 (block 2704).In some examples, the orientation validator 2118 receives signals fromthe housing orientation sensor 2114 and the stencil orientation sensor2116. In some examples, the orientation validator 2118 may determine theorientation of the housing 502 from block 2202 of FIG. 22 and theorientation of the stencil 704, 1502 from block 2208 of FIG. 22.

The orientation validator 2118 determines if the housing 502 is in thefirst orientation 902 or the third orientation 1506 (block 2706). Forexample, the orientation determiner 2118 may determine the orientationof the housing 502 based on the signals provided by the housingorientation sensor 2114 and/or the example program 2300 of FIG. 23.

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is inthe first orientation 902 or the third orientation 1506 at block 2706,the orientation validator 2118 determines if the stencil orientationsensor 2116 is in a triggered state (block 2708). For example, thestencil orientation sensor 2116 is in a triggered state when the secondtab 764 of the stencil 704, 1502 is in the sensing chamber 800 andtriggers the sensor 760.

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the stencilorientation sensor 2116 is in a triggered state at block 2708, then thedisplay output controller 2122 associates the first light 730 a to thefirst visual indicator 720 a of the stencil 704 or the first visualindicator 1504 a of the stencil 1502, and associates the second light730 b to the second visual indicator 720 b of the stencil 704 or thesecond visual indicator 1504 b of the stencil 1502 (block 2710).

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is notin the first orientation 902 or the third orientation 1506 at block2706, the orientation validator 2118 determines if the housing 502 is inthe second orientation 1102 or the fourth orientation 1702 (block 2712).If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the housing 502 is inthe second orientation 1102 or the fourth orientation 1702 at block2712, the orientation validator 2118 determines if the stencilorientation sensor 2116 is in a triggered state (block 2714).

If the orientation validator 2118 determines that the stencilorientation sensor 2116 is in a triggered state at block 2714, then thedisplay output controller 2122 associates the second light 730 b to thefirst visual indicator 720 a of the stencil 704 or the first visualindicator 1504 a of the stencil 1502, and associates the first light 730a to the second visual indicator 720 b of the stencil 704 or the secondvisual indicator 1504 b of the stencil 1502 (block 2716).

If housing orientation is not in the first orientation 902 or the thirdorientation 1506 at block 2706, the housing orientation is not in thesecond orientation 1102 or the fourth orientation 1702 at block 2712,the stencil orientation sensor is not in a triggered state at block2708, or the stencil orientation sensor is in a triggered state at block2714, then the program indicates that the orientation of the housing 502and/or the orientation of the stencil 704, 1502 is invalid (block 2718).

FIG. 28 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 2800 capableof executing the instructions of FIGS. 22-27 to implement the meter 102,500 of FIGS. 1-16, 17A, 17B, and 18-21.

The processor platform 2800 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 2812. The processor 1012 of the illustrated example ishardware. For example, the processor 2812 can be implemented by one ormore integrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors or controllersfrom any desired family or manufacturer.

The processor 2812 of the illustrated example includes a local memory2813 (e.g., a cache). The example processor 2812 executes instructionsto implement the example audio sensor 2102, the example media identifier2104, the example people identifier 2106, the example controller 2108,the example network communicator 2112, the example orientation validator2118, the example comparator 2120, the example display output controller2122, and the example alarm generator 2124.

The processor 2812 of the illustrated example is in communication with amain memory including a volatile memory 2814 and a non-volatile memory2816 via a bus 2818. The volatile memory 2814 may be implemented bySynchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random AccessMemory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM) and/or anyother type of random access memory device. The non-volatile memory 2816may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desired type ofmemory device. Access to the main memory 2814, 2816 is controlled by amemory controller.

The processor platform 2800 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 2820. The interface circuit 2820 may be implemented byany type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, auniversal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 2822 are connectedto the interface circuit 2820. The input device(s) 2822 permit(s) a userto enter data and commands into the processor 1012. The input device(s)can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, acamera (still or video), a sensor, and/or a voice recognition system. Inthe illustrated example of FIG. 28, the example input device(s) 2822implement the example audio sensor 2102 (e.g., a microphone), theexample housing orientation sensor 2114, and the example stencilorientation sensor 2116.

One or more output devices 2824 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 2820 of the illustrated example. The output devices 1024 can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED) such as, for example, the lights 730), an organic lightemitting diode (OLED), a tactile output device, a printer and/orspeakers). The interface circuit 2820 of the illustrated example, thus,typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip or agraphics driver processor.

The interface circuit 2820 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem and/or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data withexternal machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network2826 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), atelephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.).

The processor platform 2800 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 2828 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 2828 include floppy disk drives,hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, RAIDsystems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives.

The coded instructions 2832 of FIGS. 22-27 may be stored in the massstorage device 2828, in the volatile memory 2814, in the non-volatilememory 2816, and/or on a removable tangible computer readable storagemedium such as a CD or DVD. In the illustrated example of FIG. 28 theexample mass storage device 2828 stores the data store 2110. However,any other memory device of the example processor platform 2800 mayadditionally or alternatively store the example data store 2110.

At least some of the aforementioned examples include one or morefeatures and/or benefits including, but not limited to, the following:

In some examples, an apparatus includes a housing orientation sensor toprovide a first signal representative of an orientation of a housing ofa meter. In some such examples, the apparatus includes a stencilorientation sensor to provide a second signal representative of anorientation of a stencil of the meter. In some such examples, anorientation validator receives the first and second signals. In somesuch examples, the orientation validator determines, based on the firstsignal and the second signal, whether an orientation of the stencilrelative to an orientation of the housing is valid.

In some examples, the housing orientation sensor includes anaccelerometer.

In some examples, the stencil orientation sensor includes a contactswitch.

In some examples, the orientation validator is to determine theorientation of the housing to be at least one of a first orientation, asecond orientation, a third orientation, or a fourth orientation basedon the first signal.

In some examples, an alarm generator to generate an alarm when theorientation validator determines that the orientation of the housing isnot the first orientation, the second orientation, the third orientationor the fourth orientation.

In some examples, the orientation validator is to determine that thestencil is in at least one of a first direction or a second direction,based on the second signal.

In some examples, the stencil presents a plurality of visual indicatorsin an upright orientation when the stencil is in the first direction andthe stencil presents the visual indicators in an upside-down orientationwhen the stencil is in the second direction.

In some examples, the orientation validator is to determine theorientation of the stencil relative to the orientation of the housing isvalid when the stencil is determined to be in the first direction andthe housing is determined to be in at least one of the firstorientation, the second orientation, the third orientation or the fourthorientation.

In some examples, an alarm generator to generate an alarm when theorientation validator determines the stencil is in the second directionand the orientation of the housing is the first orientation, the secondorientation, the third orientation or the fourth orientation.

In some examples, a display output controller controls operation of aplurality of lights of the meter based on at least one of theorientation of the housing or the orientation of the stencil.

In some examples, the display output controller is to illuminate a firstlight to display a first visual indicator of the stencil and illuminatea second light to display a second visual indicator of the stencil whenthe orientation validator determines the orientation of the housing isin the first orientation or the third orientation.

In some examples, the display output controller is to illuminate thesecond light to display the first visual indicator of the stencil andilluminate the first light to display the second visual indicator of thestencil when the orientation validator determines the orientation of thehousing is in the second orientation or the fourth orientation.

In some examples, the display output controller is to illuminate a firstlight to display a first visual indicator of the stencil and illuminatea second light to display a second visual indicator of the stencil whenthe orientation validator determines the stencil orientation sensor isin a triggered state.

In some examples, the display output controller is to illuminate thesecond light to display the first visual indicator of the stencil andilluminate the first light to display the second visual indicator of thestencil when the orientation validator determines the stencilorientation sensor is in a non-triggered state.

In some examples, a method includes determining, by executing aninstruction with a processor, an orientation of a housing of a meter. Insome such examples, the method includes determining, by executing aninstruction with a processor, an orientation of a stencil. In some suchexamples, the method includes determining, by executing an instructionwith a processor, whether the orientation of the stencil relative to theorientation of the housing is valid.

In some examples, determining whether the orientation of the stencilrelative to the orientation of the housing is valid includes comparingthe orientation of the housing and the orientation of the stencil.

In some examples the determining of the orientation of the housingincludes detecting if the housing is in at least one of a firstorientation or a second orientation, the first orientation beingdifferent than the second orientation.

In some examples, the detecting of the orientation of the housingincludes sensing a rotation of the housing from the first orientation tothe second orientation while the stencil is positioned in a display areaof the housing.

In some examples, the determining of the orientation of the housingfurther includes detecting if the housing is in at least one of a thirdorientation or a fourth orientation, the third orientation beingdifferent than the fourth orientation.

In some examples, the method includes receiving a signal from a sensorto determine if the housing is in at least one of the first orientation,the second orientation, the third orientation or the fourth orientation.

In some examples, the method includes generating an alarm when thehousing is not in the first orientation, the second orientation, thethird orientation or the fourth orientation.

In some examples, the method includes the determining of the orientationof the stencil includes determining if the stencil is in at least one ofa first direction or a second direction.

In some examples, the method includes receiving a signal from a sensorto determine the orientation of the stencil.

In some examples, the method includes determining that a visualindicator of the stencil is in an upright orientation relative to theorientation of the housing when the stencil is in the first directionand determining that the visual indicator of the stencil is in anupside-down orientation when the stencil is in the second directionrelative to the determined orientation of the housing.

In some examples, the method includes generating an alarm when thestencil is in the second direction and the housing is in at least one ofthe first orientation, the second orientation, the third orientation, orthe fourth orientation.

In some examples, the method includes controlling operation of aplurality of lights based on at least one of the orientation of thehousing or the orientation of the stencil.

In some examples, the controlling of the operation of the lightsincludes illuminating a first light to display a first visual indicatorof the stencil and illuminating a second light to display a secondvisual indicator of the stencil when the housing is in the firstorientation or the third orientation.

In some examples, the controlling of the operation of the lightsincludes illuminating the second light to display the first visualindicator of the stencil and illuminating the first light to display thesecond visual indicator of the stencil when the housing is in the secondorientation or the fourth orientation.

In some examples, the controlling of the operation of the lightsincludes illuminating a first light to display a first visual indicatorof the stencil and illuminating a second light to display a secondvisual indicator of the stencil when the stencil triggers a stencilorientation sensor.

In some examples, the controlling of the operation of the lightsincludes illuminating the second light to display the first visualindicator of the stencil and illuminating the first light to display thesecond visual indicator of the stencil when the stencil does nottriggers a stencil orientation sensor.

In some examples, a tangible computer-readable medium comprisinginstructions that, when executed, cause a machine to: determine, viaexecution of an instruction with a processor, an orientation of ahousing of a meter; determine, via execution of an instruction with aprocessor, an orientation of a stencil; and determine, via execution ofan instruction with a processor, whether the orientation of the stencilrelative to the orientation of the housing is valid.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine tocompare the orientation of the housing and the orientation of thestencil to determine whether the orientation of the stencil relative tothe orientation of the housing is valid.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine todetect whether the housing is in at least one of a first orientation ora second orientation, where the first orientation is different than thesecond orientation.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine tosense a rotation of the housing from the first orientation to the secondorientation while the stencil is positioned in a display area of thehousing to detect the orientation of the housing.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine todetect whether the housing is in at least one of a third orientation ora fourth orientation, the third orientation being different than thefourth orientation.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine toreceive a signal from a first sensor and to determine if the housing isin at least one of the first orientation, the second orientation, thethird orientation or the fourth orientation.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine togenerate an alarm when the housing is not in the first orientation, thesecond orientation, the third orientation or the fourth orientation.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine todetermine whether the stencil is in at least one of a first direction ora second direction.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine toreceive a signal from a sensor to determine the orientation of thestencil.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine todetermine that a visual indicator of the stencil is in an uprightorientation relative to the orientation of the housing when the stencilis in the first direction and determine that the visual indicator of thestencil is in an upside-down orientation when the stencil is in thesecond direction.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine togenerate an alarm when the stencil is in the second direction and thehousing is in at least one of the first orientation, the secondorientation, the third orientation or the fourth orientation.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine tocontrol operation of a plurality of lights based on at least one of theorientation of the housing or the orientation of the stencil.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine toilluminate a first light to display a first visual indicator of thestencil and illuminate a second light to display a second visualindicator of the stencil when the housing is in the first orientation orthe third orientation.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine toilluminate the second light to display the first visual indicator of thestencil and illuminate the first light to display the second visualindicator of the stencil when the housing is in the second orientationor the fourth orientation.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine toilluminate a first light to display a first visual indicator of thestencil and illuminate a second light to display a second visualindicator of the stencil when a stencil orientation sensor is in atriggered state.

In some examples, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine toilluminate the second light to display the first visual indicator of thestencil and illuminate the first light to display the second visualindicator of the stencil when a stencil orientation sensor is in anon-triggered state.

Although certain example apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacturehave been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all apparatus,methods, and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope ofthe claims of this patent.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor;and memory including instructions that, when executed, cause the atleast one processor to at least: determine an orientation of a housing;determine if a housing is in a mounting orientation; in response todetermining that the housing is not in the mounting orientation,initiate a first alarm; in response to determining that the housing isin the mounting orientation, determine an orientation of a stencil;determine if the stencil is in an upright orientation; and in responseto determining that stencil is not in the upright orientation, initiatea second alarm; and in response to at least one of the housing being inthe mounting orientation or the stencil being in the uprightorientation, assign a light pattern to a plurality of lights associatedwith the stencil.
 2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the atleast one processor determines the orientation of the housing based on afirst signal received from a housing orientation sensor, and wherein atleast one processor determines the that the housing is in the mountingorientation when the first signal is indicative of the housing being inat least one of a first housing orientation, a second housingorientation, a third housing orientation, or a fourth housingorientation.
 3. The apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein in responseto the at least one processor determining the housing in the firstorientation or the third orientation, the at least one processor is toassign a first light to a first visual indicator of the stencil andassign a second light to a second visual indicator of the stencil, andwherein in response to determining the housing in the second orientationor the fourth orientation, the at least one processor is to assign thefirst light to the second visual indicator of the stencil and assign thesecond light to the first visual indicator of the stencil.
 4. Theapparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein the at least one processor isto determine the orientation of the stencil based on a second signalreceived from a stencil orientation sensor.
 5. The apparatus as definedin claim 4, wherein the at least one processor determines the stencil isin the upright orientation when the second signal received from thestencil orientation sensor is indicative of: (1) the stencil being in afirst direction or the third direction when the at least one processordetermines the housing is in one of the first orientation or the thirdorientation, or (2) the stencil being in the second direction or thefourth direction when the at least one processor determines the housingis in one of the second orientation or the fourth orientation.
 6. Theapparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein in response to determining theorientation of the housing in the first orientation or the thirdorientation based on the first signal and the stencil being in the firstdirection or the third direction, the at least one processor is toassign a first light to a first visual indicator of the stencil andassign a second light to a second visual indicator of the stencil, andin response to determining the orientation of the housing in the secondorientation or the fourth orientation based on the first signal and thestencil being in the second direction or the fourth direction, the atleast one processor is to assign the first light to the second visualindicator of the stencil and assign the second light to the first visualindicator of the stencil.
 7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1,wherein the at least one processor is to determine the orientation ofthe stencil based on a first signal received from a stencil orientationsensor.
 8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein the at least oneprocessor assigns the light pattern by: assigning a first light todisplay a first visual indicator of the stencil and illuminating asecond light to display a second visual indicator of the stencil whenthe second signal is indicative of the stencil orientation sensor beingin a triggered state; and assigning the second light to display thefirst visual indicator of the stencil and illuminating the first lightto display the second visual indicator of the stencil when the secondsignal is indicative of the stencil orientation sensor being in anon-triggered state.
 9. A non-transitory computer readable mediumcomprising instructions that, when executed, cause at least oneprocessor to at least: determine an orientation of a housing; determineif a housing is in a mounting orientation; in response to determiningthat the housing is not in the mounting orientation, initiate a firstalarm; in response to determining that the housing is in the mountingorientation, determine an orientation of a stencil; determine if thestencil is in an upright orientation; in response to determining thatstencil is not in the upright orientation, initiate a second alarm; andin response to at least one of the housing being in the mountingorientation or the stencil being in the upright orientation, assign alight pattern to a plurality of lights associated with the stencil. 10.The non-transitory computer readable medium as defined in claim 9,wherein the instructions are further to cause the at least one processorto, determine the orientation of the housing based on a first signalreceived from a housing orientation sensor, and determine the that thehousing is in the mounting orientation when the first signal isindicative of the housing being in at least one of a first housingorientation, a second housing orientation, a third housing orientation,or a fourth housing orientation.
 11. The non-transitory computerreadable medium as defined in claim 10, wherein the instructions arefurther to cause the at least one processor to, assign a first light toa first visual indicator of the stencil and assign a second light to asecond visual indicator of the stencil in response to the at least oneprocessor determining the housing in the first orientation or the thirdorientation, and assign the first light to the second visual indicatorof the stencil and assign the second light to the first visual indicatorof the stencil in response to determining the housing in the secondorientation or the fourth orientation.
 12. The non-transitory computerreadable medium as defined in claim 10, wherein the instructions arefurther to cause the at least one processor to, determine theorientation of the stencil based on a second signal received from astencil orientation sensor.
 13. The non-transitory computer readablemedium as defined in claim 12, wherein the instructions are further tocause the at least one processor to, determine the stencil is in theupright orientation when the second signal received from the stencilorientation sensor is indicative of: (1) the stencil being in a firstdirection or the third direction when the at least one processordetermines the housing is in one of the first orientation or the thirdorientation, or (2) the stencil being in the second direction or thefourth direction when the at least one processor determines the housingis in one of the second orientation or the fourth orientation.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium as defined in claim 13, whereinthe instructions are further to cause the at least one processor to,assign a first light to a first visual indicator of the stencil andassign a second light to a second visual indicator of the stencil inresponse to determining the orientation of the housing in the firstorientation or the third orientation based on the first signal and thestencil being in the first direction or the third direction, and assignthe first light to the second visual indicator of the stencil and assignthe second light to the first visual indicator of the stencil inresponse to determining the orientation of the housing in the secondorientation or the fourth orientation based on the first signal and thestencil being in the second direction or the fourth direction.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium as defined in claim 9, whereinthe instructions are further to cause the at least one processor to,determine the orientation of the stencil based on a first signalreceived from a stencil orientation sensor.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium as defined in claim 15, wherein theinstructions are further to cause the at least one processor to: assigna first light to display a first visual indicator of the stencil andilluminating a second light to display a second visual indicator of thestencil when the second signal is indicative of the stencil orientationsensor being in a triggered state; and assign the second light todisplay the first visual indicator of the stencil and illuminating thefirst light to display the second visual indicator of the stencil whenthe second signal is indicative of the stencil orientation sensor beingin a non-triggered state.
 17. A method comprising: determining, byexecuting an instruction with at least one processor, an orientation ofa housing; determining, by executing an instruction with the at leastone processor, if a housing is in a mounting orientation; in response todetermining that the housing is not in the mounting orientation,initiating, by executing an instruction with the at least one processor,a first alarm; in response to determining that the housing is in themounting orientation, determining, by executing an instruction with theat least one processor, an orientation of a stencil; determining, byexecuting an instruction with the at least one processor, if the stencilis in an upright orientation; in response to determining that stencil isnot in the upright orientation, initiating, by executing an instructionwith the at least one processor, a second alarm; and in response to atleast one of the housing being in the mounting orientation or thestencil being in the upright orientation, assigning, by executing aninstruction with the at least one processor, a light pattern to aplurality of lights associated with the stencil.
 18. The method asdefined in claim 17, further including receiving a first signal from ahousing orientation sensor to determine the orientation of the housing,and wherein the determining of the housing being in the mountingorientation includes receiving the first signal indicative of thehousing being in at least one of a first housing orientation, a secondhousing orientation, a third housing orientation, or a fourth housingorientation.
 19. The method as defined in claim 18, wherein assigningthe light pattern includes assigning a first light to a first visualindicator of the stencil and assigning a second light to a second visualindicator of the stencil in response to determining the housing being inthe first orientation or the third orientation, and assigning the firstlight to the second visual indicator of the stencil and assign thesecond light to the first visual indicator of the stencil in response todetermining the housing being in the second orientation or the fourthorientation.
 20. The method as defined in claim 18, further includingreceiving a second signal from a stencil orientation sensor to determinethe stencil being in the upright orientation.
 21. The method as definedin claim 20, wherein the determining of the stencil being in the uprightorientation includes receiving the second signal from the stencilorientation sensor indicative of: (1) the stencil being in a firstdirection or the third direction in response to determining the housingbeing in one of the first orientation or the third orientation, or (2)the stencil being in the second direction or the fourth direction inresponse to determining the housing being in one of the secondorientation or the fourth orientation.
 22. The method as defined inclaim 21, wherein the assigning of the light pattern includes assigninga first light to a first visual indicator of the stencil and assign asecond light to a second visual indicator of the stencil in response todetermining the orientation of the housing in the first orientation orthe third orientation based on the first signal and the stencil being inthe first direction or the third direction, and assigning the firstlight to the second visual indicator of the stencil and assign thesecond light to the first visual indicator of the stencil in response todetermining the orientation of the housing in the second orientation orthe fourth orientation based on the first signal and the stencil beingin the second direction or the fourth direction.
 23. The method asdefined in claim 17, further including receiving a first signal from astencil orientation sensor to determine the orientation of the stencil.24. The method as defined in claim 23, wherein the assigning the lightpattern includes: assigning a first light to display a first visualindicator of the stencil and illuminating a second light to display asecond visual indicator of the stencil when the second signal isindicative of the stencil orientation sensor being in a triggered state;and assigning the second light to display the first visual indicator ofthe stencil and illuminating the first light to display the secondvisual indicator of the stencil when the second signal is indicative ofthe stencil orientation sensor being in a non-triggered state.